Team RWBYS
by Solaris Potentia
Summary: Team RWBY AU where they become Team RWBYS, with the addition of one Solaris Potentia, a lone wolf who has lived his life in relative isolation from the world in the wilds of Vacuo. Yet will a romance with Yang be able to draw him from his dark past and onto the path of a true huntsman? Or will his inner demons get the best of him? All the while Solaris is haunted by dark forces...
1. Chapter 1

**Solaris Potentia:**

Solaris:

Solaris Potentia.

Not the most…common…name you would find around. Solaris knew that his name drew attention to him. But…well, he couldn't exactly change it. It was part of who he was. And, he did like to think, it fitted him well. Especially given his skill set. Solaris knew that Beacon would be a fitting place for him. He had come from Vacuo, from a relatively isolated town, with little in the way of formal training for him. But with his long years of experience Grimm fighting, since he was a young kid, he wasn't exactly in doubt of gaining acceptance into Beacon. He wasn't arrogant, however, and knew his skill fighting was only matched by his ineptitude with others. He had long been a lone wolf, the singular fighter, alone against the world. Or, usually, his small world. Solaris didn't like to think too big. His immediate surroundings were often his only concern.

Now, though…with this initiation into Beacon. He knew there were going to be teams. _Teams_. Ozpin had explained (albeit briefly) that the terms for these teams would be whomever you retrieved the relic with would be on your team.

Great. _Just Great._ Solaris sighed internally at the thought of being with anyone else for any great period of time. Group struggles, power plays, greed, selfishness, doubt, anger, hate. These all came into play sooner or later in a team in his own experience. Solaris knew it was best to stay out of that. Sadly, it was necessary to work together.

Solaris looked around at the other people on the cliff beside him. Pyrrha Nikos was one of the only people here whom he recognised, but who hadn't heard of Pyrrha Nikos? She was practically world renowned, even in his isolated little home town hamlet, her name was known to the one grizzled huntsman who dwelt there.

The other people he knew…less so. He had seen them, sure, but _know them?_ Not in the slightest. He recognised the Red Cloaked girl from the ship, and her Blonde Sister. How they were sisters, he didn't know. They looked nothing alike. Maybe one was adopted? Or maybe they only shared one parent? Solaris looked at the others. A girl in black and white clothing, with a simple dark bow in her raven black hair. She seemed…quiet, and reserved. An air of subtle confidence radiated from her. She knew what she was doing. There were others as well that he looked at closely. A somewhat hyperactive girl in white and pink, with ginger hair. Next to her, a solemn looking figure clad in green. What was his name? Ren?

He was pulled from these thoughts as the launch process begin. He was at the very end. Next to him, a blonde haired young man began to inquire, somewhat doubtfully, about the "Landing process". Solaris had his own very well planned out. Simple. Elegant. Not flashy though. Well, maybe to spectators. But not him.

"…So uh…what exactly is this…landing strategy-ahhhhhh!" The person next to him was flung into the air. Ozpin sipped his coffee. Solaris swear that that coffee must have some sort of drug in it.

As his pad launched, Solaris immediately went into autopilot. He focused the merest portion of his semblance into slowing his descent, willing himself into a slower fall as he altered his mass and gravity until he was barely moving, just lightly levitating of the ground. As he neared it closer, he let go, and fell a fraction of a meter to the ground. He straightened his brown trench coat and reached into his pocket, pulling out a small watch. Pressing a button on the (Immaculately polished) gold watch, he began recording the time. Let's see how long this'll take.

Breaking into a sprint, he rushed through the forest, searching for tracks. He landed last, after all. Everyone else had a head start. He would need to make up time…fast. Solaris bounded over fallen trees, noting the signs of some sign of conflict here. He saw shells, and the corpses of some Ursa. Something had happened here. And it seemed he had just missed it.

Yang:

Pushing through the forest into a large clearing, she and her, newly acquainted, partner Blake (who talked very little), came across the temple. At least, she thought it was.

"Do you think this is it?" She asked Blake, looking over at the mysterious black clad girl. Blake didn't say anything in response, but merely started walking down the hill to the temple.

 _She doesn't talk much, does she?_

Yang was just about to follow her down the hill when she heard a twig snap behind her.

She immediately pivoted, raising her arms and pointing Ember Celica at this newcomer. She was startled to see it was another student, as opposed to a Grimm, as she had first supposed. She also saw he was alone.

Yang looked at the guy. He was tall, and wore a brown trench coat over a silver plated mail chest plate, gauntlets, and greaves. Even his shows were tinted with silver, reflecting the sunlight back at her. His blonde hair was combed to one side, and his blue eyes were watching her coldly…with a hint of bemusement.

"It's rude to stare. Especially when pointing a gun at someone" He said, pointing to Yang's gauntlets. Feeling somewhat abashed, she smiled goofily and lowered her guns.

"Oh. Right. Uh, sorry 'bout that. You startled me." She said, rubbing her neck with her hand and fiddling with a lock of hair in the other. She hoped he didn't think anything of it.

He merely retained a blank expression and looked behind her. His eyes seemed to light up when he saw the temple, as did his expression. He smiled contently to himself and made a slight fist pump to himself. Yang smiled internally. _Glad he isn't as serious as he looks. Not that he looks bad…not that I am into him or anythi-jeez, that got derailed fast…what was I thinking about…oh, right. Temple._ She thought, upon seeing Blake staring at what must be the relic needed. Yang ran down the hill to the temple, past the lone figure as he to made his way towards it. Yang suddenly slowed down and spun around as she caught up with him.

"So what's your name? I'm Yang. That over there-" she said, gesturing to Blake "She's Blake. And you are…?" she said, tilting her head to him.

He maintained a monotone expression.

"Solaris" he said in a flat voice. Yang struggled to keep a straight face.

"I'm sorry-" She held in a fit of giggles-"…Solaris? That's your real name? Your _real_ name? Your real _name? Your_ real name?" She asked in one entire breath, not trusting her expression to betray her inner laughter. Or her external laughter.

Solaris sighed, shaking his head.

"Yes. It is indeed" he replied, looking at Yang closely. He had a serious face, but his eyes suggested he too was enjoying the exchange.

 _Those really are nice…that's the second time in a minute I've looked at his eyes._ Her thoughts were distracted when he went over to the temple and looked around. There were two different sets of pieces left. Yang noticed this too and took a White Rook. She liked horses. Turning to Blake, she asked.

"How about a cute little pony?" Blake sighed, and at first Yang thought she was annoying her, but then she saw the smile on the girls face.

 _That's the spirit_. Yang liked it when people were nonchalant and joyful. People, when serious, were such a drag at times, and made talking really hard. Better when they were all in it for a laugh, like her.

Yang turned to see what Solaris, she giggled saying the name to herself, was choosing. He was looking hesitantly between the Rook and the other pieces.

Yang took it upon herself to make this easier for him.

"Take a pony. Like us. We already have two people, you can be our third, and maybe the next person to come here can be our fourth." _Assuming that's Ruby. Hopefully it is._ Yang knew she had said to her sister that maybe she should try someone else for a team, but she wouldn't have it any other way then for her to be on her team. She was easier to look out for that way. Besides, while not doubting her ability to survive in the field, in a social situation she had a little…less faith…in Ruby.

Her thought was interrupted when they heard a loud scream, a high pitched, desperate scream.

"Did you guys here that?" Solaris asked, looking at Blake and Yang, holding, to Yang's private joy and delight, a Rook, like them.

"It sounded like a girls in trouble" Blake said, in response. Just at that moment, Yang looked over to see Blake looking up, along with Solaris.

"Uh. Correct me if I am wrong. But that is someone falling out of the sky, no?" he asked Yang. Yang could not believe it. Of all the people to be, it was Ruby. Her sister. Of course. It made perfect sense. Hopefully she would not ruin any potential plans she had with Solaris. Not that she did. But in the, say, hypothetical event that she decided to give it a go. Yang was watching as Ruby continued to fall, and realised, too late, that she was not going to be able to slow or break her fall. But the fall would indeed break _her._ Preparing to catch her, Yang readied herself, when Solaris did something entirely and thoroughly unexpected, to both her and Blake.

Solaris:

 _She's going to hit the ground. She is going to hit it. This will end badly. Unless I intervene._

Stretching out his hand, Solaris willed the fall of Ruby to slow, bending gravity to his whims as she was caught in his field of influence. She suddenly stopped falling, a few meters above the ground, when someone else flew right over her head and into some nearby trees.

"Too bad you missed him" Blake said wryly. Solaris glanced over at the flying individual in question.

"He's fine" he said calmly, before lowering his hand, and with it, Ruby. He nodded at the girl, who then immediately leapt into the arms of the blonde haired girl next to him.

"Yang!" she yelled excitedly.

"Ruby!" Yang yelled back.

Just as they had finished their sibling greetings, the clearing shook with the roar of a mighty Grimm as a Deathstalker strode into the clearing, chasing the red haired Pyrrha.

"Uh. Did that girl run all the way here with a Deathstalker chasing her?" Blake asked, as if somehow the information her eyes were currently relaying to her brain had been falsified on the way there. Solaris was thinking much the same thing.

As this occurred, Solaris noted that there was also, what appeared to be, a girl who had ridden in on an Ursa, with that calm, composed and collected individual behind her looking not so calm, composed, and collected. This girl suddenly, through some unfathomable means, appeared right next to them, holding a castle in her hands, singing "I'm queen of the castle, I'm queen of the castle!" only to be interrupted by the shout of "NORA!" from across the clearing. This was enough to push Yang over the edge it seemed.

"ARGH! I've had it! Can everyone just chill out for two seconds.

Suddenly it seemed like everyone paused.

One.

Two.

Unpause.

"Uh…Yang?" asked Ruby. Yang looked up, as did everyone else.

Right.

Yang looked over at Solaris.

"Do you think you can…you know…do whatever you did before again?"

Solaris nodded, stretched out his hand, and watched as the same person who missed his field of influence last time did so again, catching the falling Weiss Schnee in the most clumsy, yet oddly graceful, heroic catch ever witnessed by any of the present company. This was immediately ruined as he realised they were both now above the ground, and without a way to stop their fall. Solaris refocused and caught them both before they hit the ground and deposited them gently to the ground.

"Great!" Yang said vibrantly. "The gangs all here. Now we can die together!"

Ruby interrupted this moment by charging forward at the Death Stalker with the adage "Not if I can help it!"

Solaris immediately saw she had misjudged this moment and was about to dive in to the fight when Yang charged forward first. Solaris instead decided to focus on the giant Nevermore that had caused the sudden arrivals of Ruby and Weiss. Unslinging from behind his back a compact SMG, its shining steel body casing elegantly carved with kill notches, he took aim at the gigantic beats and opened fire, the potent rounds screaming through the air with lethal force, colliding with the target and pockmarking the beasts underside in a flurry of miniature explosions as his HE rounds tore at it. The beast screeched in response and unleashed a volley of barbed feather strikes, the massive projectiles tearing into the ground and pinning the brashly charging Ruby to the ground as she retreated before the Death Stalker. Unable to free herself, Weiss was forced to step into action and intervene, freezing the beasts tail solid and catching its claw before it could impale the wayward Ruby. The rest of the groups combined gunfire managed to deter the Nevermore, but, as Jaune quickly noted, it wasn't long before it begun to circle back. The group quickly reformed, Ruby and Weiss apparently reaching some consensus between the two on the proper course of action whilst the others prepared a retreat to the cliffs. Solaris pocketed his piece and joined them. He felt as though something was wrong with him. He should leave them be, and return, yet the requirements were to do it together. As a team.

Solaris, along with the rest of them, arrived at a derelict building, its majestic form falling to the ravages of time and neglect. A singular rocky bridge spanned a mist filled gorge, providing the only way across. The Nevermore circled overhead, landing on the ruins top, whilst the Death Stalker, freed from its prison, corralled the group into action. The opening volley from the Nevermore was expertly avoided by the hyperactive ginger haired girl, who returned fire with some sort of explosive grenade launcher. The others seemed to move in perfect unity, without having ever, apparently, fought as one before. Solaris, however, had no such plan to fight with them. They would fight well enough, he deemed, for him to fight independently of them. For as long as he could, that is. Propelling himself upwards onto the higher parts of the ruins, he aimed at the Nevermore whilst the others battled the Death Stalker. Solaris fired a full clip into the beast, its wing taking several hits as it flew around the ruin. Reloading, he threw the gun into the air, grabbed its stock, flipped it, and transformed it into his secondary weapon.

His boomerang. A quite literal "Boom"-erang though. He hefted his arm and threw it with all his might, the gun spinning elegantly through the air, the gun opening fire in all directions, a full 360 degree spray of HE high velocity rounds, landing many shots on the Nevermore. When it got close enough, the bayonet on the SMG served as the Boomerangs lethal bladed edge, slicing into the flesh of the Nevermore and creating a deep gauge on the beasts flank below the wing, causing it to swerve in flight and grapple precariously at the ruins his new team members were on. His boomerang swiftly returned to his grasp, and he quickly threw the empty magazine out before placing a new one in.

The resultant fire storm hit the beasts so many times that the Nevermore struggled to regain flight, namely thanks to that energetic Ruby girl. Solaris smiled. Seems they weren't so useless after all. Solaris was pulled violently from his chain of thought when the Death Stalker smashed down the ruin he was standing on, knocking him to the ground. Right in front of said beast. He looked up, dazed, and saw the beasts stinger coming down to him, when it was suddenly blocked by that blonde haired boy and his shield, who looked down and nodded as Solaris jumped to his feet, spun around and fired his gun into the Death Stalkers face, crippling its eyes in the shrapnel storm of his Highly Explosive rounds impacting its face. The others clustered around, delivering blow after blow. Pyrrha was driving them forward whilst that boy shouted instructions, which the solemn black haired boy followed with unquestioning lethality. That hyperactive ginger was raining destruction upon the beast as they prepared the killing blow. Solaris looked over to where the others were fighting. Marshalling his Semblance, he propelled himself forward, over the shattered bridge, and landed in the ruined building. He joined Blake as they fired round after round into the Nevermore, forcing it to land.

When the beast finally surrendered and landed somewhat gracelessly upon the top of the ruin, Solaris was aware of the team preparing some sort of finishing move. Ruby was readying herself on a Glyph that the Weiss girl had prepared, whilst Blake pulled it bake like some sort of improvised catapult. Solaris looked at Ruby, who nodded in an unspoken agreement. He somehow instinctively knew what to do, channelling his willpower to alter the mass of the girl in question. As she launched, her altered mass made her propel forward at incredible speed, her scythe catching the beast around the neck with such force that is neck was heard to go _snap_ even from this distance. Solaris watched in amazement as Weiss made a series of glyphs up along the cliff, which Ruby then propelled herself up with incredible speed, pulling the Nevermore with her the whole way. The beast struggled limply before its head was torn off in an explosion of blood and rose petals as Ruby reached the top of the cliff, her cape streaming behind her. She looked down on the ruins below, and Solaris felt, for once in his life, that maybe these people were some people he could work with. But still. He had one of the four pieces needed to be on their team. They had partners already. He did not. He was not sure if Weiss was aware of this or not, but, since it was impossible for her to have her own (He had seen Ruby take her piece, he assumed that Weiss assumed Ruby had hers or that they would go back to get the one that would be there for her-possibly) so he came to the only logical conclusion of what to do. He went over to Weiss, and handed her his piece. She looked somewhat incredulous at first, but then she nodded.

"I won't need this. Teams…they have never been my strong suit. You…you on the other hand. You seem to know teams better than me. And you have a partner. Be thankful for that. If you didn't have her as your partner, well, I would've kept this as my own. But it belongs to you." He said, and then began to walk away.

Weiss stopped him before he could go.

"But what about you? You can't complete initiation without a piece. You'll have to go back"

Solaris smiled, turning to face her.

"It seems I will, but honour is more important than hearing the mockery of others. My honour goes before my pride. I would rather fail today and try again knowing I did what was right rather than win and make someone else suffer. No matter how little or well I know them" Weiss looked somewhat stunned by this, but was distracted by the immediate celebration of their teammates. As they clustered together, only Yang saw him walk away into the ruins, the mysterious figure vanishing in the gloom. She felt somewhat sad at his sudden departure, but could not say why, for some reason. In any case, she was distracted by the celebrations of friends and team, and so Solaris faded away as suddenly as he had come.

As Solaris strode up the cliff back at the start of the initiation, he heard the slow clap of someone in the tree line. No one else was here. Looking around, he saw none other than Professor Ozpin step out of hiding, wearing his bemused smile and his ever present coffee in hand.

"Congratulations, young man. You worked well with your team. Even if you did not know it" He begun, fixing Solaris with his steady gaze.

Solaris nodded thanks. His fighting was never in doubt. He had never seen reason to doubt, except when he was knocked off those ruins. He would have to thank that blonde haired warrior who saved his life. He was about to say the same to Ozpin when he realised something he had just said.

"Wait…team?" he asked doubtfully.

Ozpin chuckled, and threw him a White Rook piece. A fifth piece.

"It seems I dropped this. A pity. You may have to return it to me…say…during the initiation ceremony. When RWBY is up." He said, his smile visible.

Solaris couldn't believe it. "But, sir, you…I handed my piece away. I have no place on that team. I don't belong on a team. All my life I have fought alone. Other people slow me down. Other people make bonds. Ties. Emotions. I dealt with that once before. Never again" _Never again. She trusted me. And I failed her._

"Like it or not, it is your path. You'll remain without a partner. But you'll have a team. Fight with them. Study with them. Hunt with them. Laugh with them. They may not be the most unified team. But I see potential in them. I see potential in you. A team is what you need to begin to learn to trust again, to work with others. You can't go your life without accepting help. Your future will never allow it. Learn now, before the mistakes from not learning become the last mistakes you ever make" Ozpin explained, his tone serious, his wisdom reaching into Solaris.

"Let's just call it part of our…foreign training…programme" he said, and departed, leaving Solaris with a White Rook in hand and an uncertain future ahead.

XXX

When the time of the initiation finally came, no one was ready for that moment. When RWBY stood upon the stage, no one was ready when that last figure came up on the stage, presented his piece, and the computer announced that there was to be a fifth team member of the team. Solaris Potentia. A name unheard of by most. What was entirely unheard of was a team of five. Never had there been a team of five, but, at Ozpin's announcement of this being a foreign training programme, people seemed to accept it more readily. Except Goodwitch, who knew there was no such programme in existence, nor had their ever been. Those least expecting it where team RWBY, now RWBYS, (Pronounced, if it must be said, Rubies) were standing, Weiss in indignant shock, Blake looking over in wonder, Ruby in confusion, and Yang in secret joy at Solaris joining them. However, this was all changed when it was announced that Ruby was to be the leader, causing Yang to forget the new addition to their team and hug her younger sister, whilst Solaris did his best to remain unnoticed. He was not successful.

XXX

Solaris and RWBY were making their way to their dorm, something he figured that Ozpin hadn't really thought through _that_ well. For starters, he hoped he had a bed. And a separate change room. Or, he hoped, failing that, a bathroom that had a locking door. He sincerely hoped for that, at least. He wandered if this fact was something that anyone else had thought of. Hopefully someone else would understand. Then again, being the only guy in a room full of unfamiliar girls…this had some serious concerns up ahead. Not that _he_ would instigate anything. He doubted very much that any of them would be interested in him. For starters, he knew that Ruby, at least, was too young to care for such matters, since he had not seen her glance once at him, or anyone else, with anything but a look of:

Inquiry

Confusion

That subtle look that suggests you might be insane but I, as the person listening, do not want to mention because I fear what will happen if I do and I don't want to test to see if your actually insane but I am not sure if I am able to slowly back away without you noticing me and what I am doing

Fun

Thus, he was safe from her. He was certain Weiss had some sort of grudge or animosity for him being on the team against established tradition, despite her presence only being on the team because _of_ him. Or maybe she just disliked Ruby to the point that it was slipping over into other conversations. Or maybe she just didn't like him full stop. He honestly didn't know.

Blake. Blake, however, was someone her appeared to be preoccupied with other things. What those were, he could not say, but he sensed something off with her. His trained eye in the field of hunting recognised something hidden, some secret aspect, that Blake was hiding, although what it was he could not say.

Finally, that left Yang. Yang was…well, she was naturally flirtatious, it seemed, but if this was serious flirting, or just casual, "this is my everyday style of communication" flirting, he could not tell. But Yang, of all the group, seemed the one most eager to talk to him, and, of all the group, she was the one whom he noticed looking at him before quickly glancing away on more than one separate occasion. Once or twice, that was mere social awkwardness, but three, four or five times? That was a bit more. That was either interest, or he had something on his clothes that only Yang could see.

As they entered the dorms, Solaris sighed. Of course.

There were four beds.

He had worried if someone thought to place an extra bed in here. He supposed he could sleep on the floor. After all, he was used to camping outside in the wilds, often in Grimm infested territory. He knew that sleeping in a dorm room, even on the floor, was infinitely more comfortable then the rocky floor of a cave, or in a tree, or a ruined building.

Yet again.

"So where's your bed going to be?" Ruby was asking Yang, in the traditional sibling competition for best bed. Yang looked them over.

"There all the same, Rubes" she replied doubtfully, looking at her sister.

Weiss had already called the bed nearest the open window, while Blake had called the one nearest the door. That left two.

"I guess I'll sleep on the floor then, shall I?" Solaris asked the assembled group.

Ruby looked around as if seeing the problem for the first time. "No, you shouldn't have to. We should get you your own bed" she said helpfully.

"Or" begun Blake, a sly look in her eyes. "You and Yang could sleep in the same bed. You are sisters, after all, so you must've done it before, I assume?"

Ruby and Yang glanced at each other, eyes narrowing, Mexican stand-off style, before immediately launching into tirades about why that won't happen. The resultant blur of words and shouts made it sound as if at least ten people were arguing loudly, or one Nora was in the room.

Blake immediately regretted the idea, abandoned it, and went back to reading. Weiss was not exactly the type to share a bed, and seeing that the Ruby-Yang bed dispute would not be resolved without extensive arguing, Solaris accepted his position and decided to take the floor.

Yang, however, had other ideas.

"Or…he could…stay in my bed" She said, ever so slowly, as if saying these words were somehow akin to prodding a delicate glass sculpture of priceless value, and that the wrong word might shatter Solaris. When she said the words, it certainly seemed to break Blake, who's dropped her book, eyes wide. Weiss turned around, opening her mouth to interject, before Ruby…ever so innocent, said the following. "And have Yang sleep on the floor?" She said, confused.

"I don't think that's what see meant" Blake said quietly.

Weiss remained silent, preferring to watch the spectacle unfold as it may. Let's see our so called leader handle this situation, she thought to herself. She would merely throw Solaris out and be done with it. But Ruby was a bit more…kind, it seemed. That, or ignorant.

Ruby stared at Blake for a moment. Then Yang. Then Blake again. Then Solaris, who tried to activate a non-existent ability to teleport out of this situation. He had no success and was forced to watch as Ruby came to the conclusion.

"… _oh…"_ she said in a small voice, before bursting out into laughter. This came as a surprise to everyone.

"Yang…you want to…you thought…hahahaha…yo-….y…teeheeheehahahahaahaheeteehee…you thought tha…heahaHAAHAHAHA!"

Everyone looked at her as if she had suffered some sort of severe brain disorder induced by uncontained comedic value.

Yang remained silent, blushing violently out how her actions seemed to come across to everyone. Solaris then decided to step in.

"Relax. Relax. Everyone, I don't think Yang would mean to be in the same bed as me for any other reason other than because she doesn't want a fellow team member to sleep on the floor whilst you all get nice comfy beds. I'll get my bed tomorrow and after that it shall all be fine, won't it?" he said, looking between everyone, causing Yang to blush even more when he looked in her direction.

 _Besides, if I can survive one night here, possibly in the same bed as her…no. I will take the floor. It won't be so bad. Surely not._

Yang, however, had no such qualms, it appeared, even if the previous conversation was anything to go by.

"Now what sort of team mate would I be if I just let you sleep on the floor?" Yang asked everyone. "I can't speak for you lot, but I, myself, would be perfectly happy sleeping… _just_ sleeping, mind you, with a fellow team member, not a _guy,_ and definitely not a _boyfriend._ I don't know about you, but I am willing to make that sacrifice." She said, crossing her arms over her (impressive) chest.

Solaris looked around vainly for help, and, seeing none coming, begun to restate that he was perfectly happy with being on the floor. Blake, however, wanted to resolve the situation as well, most likely so she could read her book in piece.

"Technically, if you really cared _that_ much Yang, _you_ would be the one to sleep on the floor. Not him. And if he really doesn't care, then he would take your bed. If, however, he does care, then he will choose one or the other. Yet, if you don't surrender the bed, he will sleep on the floor." She said softly, not looking up from her book.

Yang then began to open her mouth when she stopped, most peculiarly, and paused.

"Ugh. Fine" she said, somewhat theatrically, it seemed. Everyone else, however, dismissed the matter and went back to what they were doing. Solaris went up to Yang (Who seemed to blush ever so slightly when he approached) and put a hand on her shoulder, leaning in close. "You really don't mind?" he asked her carefully, looking her in the eye. Yang nodded at him, the blush appearing to deepen, her breathing increased. She seemed to lean in slightly closer, making her chest more exposed to him.

"I have no preference. Same as you. You can take my bed. I'll take the floor one night. We can't always get what we want, can we?"

Solaris decided not to push this matter further and turned promptly to the bed. _Let's test her. If she wants this bed, she would've kept it. Perhaps she'll sleep with Ruby._ Solaris begun setting up the bed for his own preferred style, with a second pillow on top of the original, and a third out to this right side. He moved the pillows to the left so that he could lie facing right, his more comfortable position, or, as he did in the wild, to conceal his weapon underneath the blankets, and be ready to roll out of the bed with his weapon in hand at a moment's notice. Whilst not relevant here, he would still do it out of habit. After he had dealt with the normal nightly requirements of showering (Making sure the room was empty before entering and making sure the door was locked upon entering), getting dressed for bed (Again making sure the door hadn't spontaneously come unlocked during the shower somehow), brushing his teeth, and combing his hair (Yes, he combed his hair) he re-entered the room, noting how everyone had seemingly gone to sleep when he was in the shower. Which was not odd, he supposed, as Blake was the only one left awake, reading by nightlight, when he was entering the bathroom. Still, he could swear he could detect some slight movement as he passed Blake's bed, pausing ever so slightly and detecting a miniscule shift in someone's breathing and the ruffling of…paper? Solaris decided Blake still had a book open on her bed when she turned the lights off. Entering his bed, he realised he had failed to see where Yang was sleeping, and did not notice her in Ruby's bed, as he supposed the two sisters would do.

Too tired to think properly, he entered his bed when he realised that someone else was already there.

Solaris sighed when he realised who it was.

"You never had any intention of letting me take your bed, did you?" he whispered in hushed tones. Yang's head popped up from underneath the covers.

"Nope" she replied in a whisper, her smile evident even in the dark. Solaris supposed that he can add practical jokes to Yang's list of things she liked. Not that he was keeping an actual list…or that he intended to use it…that is, if it existed.

"And I suppose this was planned so you could get me to lie next to you, wasn't it?" he asked her, to Yang's amusement. She smiled again and straightened her hair.

"I wanted to see how you would react. I was hoping you'd yell out or something. You took this pretty well." She said slyly, winking to him. Solaris immediately felt uncomfortable about how easily she had tricked him. And how simple the trick was, more to the point.

Solaris nodded, realization dawning. " _You_ were testing me." He said simply.

Yang smiled widely.  
"Yep, she shouted causing all the lights in the dorm to turn on suddenly. Solaris instantly realised how the situation looked and felt that he had been a fool to be tricked so easily. Or so fast.

Well then. Explaining why he and Yang were in the same bed was going to be fun.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: The First Few Days:

Solaris awoke, his mind temporarily confused by his surroundings. He rolled over in the bed…and remembered the rather embarrassing interruptions throughout the night as Yang twisted and turned in her sleep, occasionally knocking his head with her hands and at one point her foot. He wandered if she dreamed about fighting as much as she actually fought.

Solaris remembered the other interruption in the night, as he realised Yang had baited him into getting into this bed under the assumption she had donated it to him. He soon found out that she had been hiding in the covers to ambush him for a laugh, to see how he reacted. Internally, he was mildly annoyed at her, but externally, his long years of self-control managed to make him appear rather indifferent to the whole series of events, leaving the rest of the team to chalk it up to immature hijinks (Weiss), playful banter (Blake) or embarrassing sibling humour (Ruby). After Yang's laughter had died down, he decided not to go back on anything and maintained a side of the bed as his own…for one night only. Yang seemed to enjoy this greatly, though if it was just out of good natured humour or something…else, Solaris did not know.

Slowly lifting himself out of bed, he tip toed over the floor, not realising that the rest of his team probably did not deign to get up at…he looked at his watch…5:00 in the morning. No one except Blake, apparently, as he was about to open the bathroom door.

"If you're having a shower now, don't use all the hot water please" said the voice behind him. Solaris spun around in surprise, swinging his hand in a sudden twirling punch, which fell just short of Blake as she stepped back one. "You must really like your showers" she joked as he looked abashed at his rather aggressive hello.

"It comes from being the wild so long" He replied, trying to muster the grace to look ashamed.

Blake nodded, her eyes narrowing in query of this statement. "Exactly how long did you spend in the wild by yourself?" She asked.

Solaris thought about it briefly. "It must've been a bit over two years. I was found by a hunter and bought here only a few months ago, so I was alone there since…since I was about 15. Even before that, I was still in the wilds, just…not alone" _He changed that all though. When he made me lose her. When he took her from me._

Saying none of that aloud, he gave Blake a sad little smile. "It wasn't the best period of my life, let's just say that. But I like life here better" to which Blake merely nodded, before returning to her bed to read. Solaris opened and closed the door behind him, before undressing to turn on the shower and prepare for the day.

Yang:

Yang awoke to the sound of hot water running and the infernal infiltration of sunlight through a crack in the curtains, which, naturally, was positioned just so that her face would be hit by the full force of this most hideous of morning interlopers. That, and noise.

Throwing her covers off her bed, she rolled inelegantly out of bed, hitting the floor with a soft "Thud", causing Blake to look down in concern over the side of her bed.

"Uh…are you alright?" she asked hesitantly, to which Yang replied in a voice which sounded something like a drunke Ursa after it had been hit on the head a few times, with a severe throat blockage to boot. Smiling ever so slightly at her teammates morning drowsiness, Blake returned to her book, as Yang stumbled to the bathroom, still clearing the sleep from her eyes. Blake paid her no heed until she remembered that Solaris was in the bathroom.

Opening the door, Yang didn't fully process that someone was in here until her sleep addled brain combined "Bathroom", "Shower" and "On" with "Person" and, after that, "Person" "In" "Here".

"Whoops, sorry, I didn't mean to-" she begun, until she finally realised who it was.

Solaris was just turning the shower off, and had managed (In a fit of super speed more naturally found in Ruby) to wrap a towel around his waist, covering down to just below his knees, but nothing else.

Yang looked at Solaris.

Solaris looked at Yang.

"Do I have to tell you for the second time that it is rude to stare?" he asked, but with a smile on his face and a slightly raised eyebrow in Yang's direction this time. Yang begun to blush profusely, before regaining her composure.

"Uh, well, you could always lock the bathroom" She snapped, resorting to anger over embarrassment before realising that this was not the right way to go. She thought Solaris was annoyed at her before he looked at the door with a great deal of interest.

"You can do that with these doors? Huh" he said, in a monotone voice as he looked at Yang sheepishly. "Well, that one might've been my fault I guess" he said, laughing it off and patting Yang on the shoulder. She privately rejoiced at his touch, but turned slightly sour when his dripping wet hand left a wet mark on her sleeping clothes.

"Solaris!" She gasped, slapping him playfully on the arm, which felt like iron.

Solaris looked at her in the eye with another sheepish look, which, for some reason, she found extremely endearing. However, this look was soon gone when they heard the excited chatter of someone outside the door.

"Yang? Are you in there? Helllooooo? Yang? _Yangggggggg!_ I want to have a shower now" came a somewhat petulant voice that sounded as if the owner was trying to use a puppy dog look through a solid object to reach Yang. It was, no doubt, Ruby.

Solaris looked at Yang. "Do you want to explain how this happened?" He asked, raising the one eyebrow again. Yang looked hesitant before opening the door a crack and squeezing out. Yang looked at Ruby before smiling.

"Uh, not right now, little sis, Solaris is getting dressed. He forgot his clothes by the bed, so I went and gave them to him" She added, before Ruby could interject with some statement about Yang being creepy by going into a room with a guy getting changed in it. Yang didn't want to add any more fuel to the fire of Ruby and her remarks about Yang and guys.

A few moments later, Solaris came out in his uniform, his hair combed back and his blue eyes shining. He straightened his tie and fiddled with one of the silver plated gauntlets he kept under his uniform on his wrist.

"Morning Sol" Ruby said, ever so cheerfully as he walked over to where he put his bag last night. Yang sighed under her breathe. Ruby has already given him a nickname.

"Sol?" he questioned, looking quizzically at her. Ruby nodded vigorously. "Uh-huh. Nickname. Everyone has one. Besides, I am not saying _Solaris_ all the time, it takes like 3 hours to say. Sol is easier. Makes more sense too. What does Solaris even mean?" she said, in one entire breathe. Solaris…no, Sol, Yang corrected mentally, looked as if he was about to short circuit. Yang was hoping he would do that Sheepish grin of his again, but no such luck.

"Right. Well. Solaris is an old name, and it means 'Sun', or 'Solar' depending on the translation used." He explained as Ruby ran into the bathroom. Yang looked over at him apologetically as he looked at her, which caused her to blush slightly at his regal expression. Yang kicked herself mentally. Keep it together, she scolded herself. You've only just met him.

Yang flopped back down on bed, and waited for the rest of her team to finish with the shower before going last. Well, not last. Weiss was still asleep, somehow, with a heavenly look of bliss on her face. As she showered, she could faintly hear Ruby talking to Sol about Dust knows what. Nothing could be certain with her, although she was willing to bet anything on the topic of discussion being weapons. As Yang finished her shower, fixed and prepared her hair (This was a lengthy pursuit indeed, a task of legend and herculean might to accomplish right) she dressed herself, fixed her hair again, and went to see what was being discussed. Sure enough, Blake was reading quietly, whilst Ruby was basically leaping up and down beside Sol as he regaled her with the explanations of his weapon, its design, components, ammunition, and alter form, as the boomerang.

"…the real issue I have been having is with the aerodynamic contours of the weapon getting damaged from the recoil of such high calibre explosive rounds. Slight adjustments in the weapons stabiliser to recalibrate the targeting system to accommodate for the contour displacement and wind resistance factors often delays the rate of fire or alters the spread of the gun, meaning that the weapons shot spread varies slightly with each round, say about a factor of 1.4%, from recent testing, but with a capacity of 30 in the internal magazine, the recoil often completely alters the trajectory of the gun, forcing me to rely upon my gravity manipulating semblance to guide it back to me"

Ruby absorbed this information as a sponge does water, and admired the somewhat easy way she could discuss things with him. Just at that moment, Ruby paused, which Yang knew was unusual-Ruby never paused in a lecture about weapons and armaments-to point at Weiss, frowning.

"She is still asleep!" She hissed at no one in particular, as if the concept of sleeping past 7:30 was something out of the minds of a crazed maniac, and this was some new and unsettling creation unleashed upon the world. Taking it upon herself to wake the sleeping Weiss with a high pitched whistle apparently procured from the depths of hell (for the team's ears, that is).

"What in the world is wrong with you?" Weiss spat as she fell from bed, her expression furious.

"We still need to unpack…"Blake said, tipping everything in her suitcase onto the floor, as Yang prefaced with "Decorating!" (One of her favourite things in the world aside from killing things, flirting with boys, killing things, sleeping, killing things, and eating)

"…And clean" Blake added as she stared nonchalantly at her stuff in a pile on the floor. This was then followed with the three excited girls (Yang, Ruby, and Blake) combining into the ultimate engine of decorating and refurbishing this side of Vale.

Solaris:

Looking at the girls as if his grip on the world of sanity had decided to abandon him post-haste, Solaris..or Sol, as he supposed he would be known from now on, begun to set up his sleeping area. His permanent sleeping area. Which was, for want of anything else, a hammock suspended from two portal collapsible poles he kept stored in his travelling bag, to provide a sleeping spot on any flat ground available, above whatever may lurk on the ground below in the night in the wild. Unless they happened to be Grimm. But Sol had long since devised ways to keep them away from him. Landmines, for instance.

Solaris set up the poles and hang the hammock between them, placing a blanket upon that and then two pillows in a haphazard fashion over that. He then set them up in his style. One on each side, and a third to hide a concealed weapon under the blankets in arms reach at all times. He also made sure that the hidden knife sheathe was open, placed horizontally behind the "headrest" of the pillow. You could never lack in weapons.

He then reached into his bag to pull out the major storage items containing nothing but…books. Piles upon piles of books, full of field notes, maps of the wild, notes on Grimm, and even more piles of adventures, fantasy, sci-fi, historical accounts, and some engineering books. He made great care to hide his prized series, "A Song of Dust and Fire" behind the others. No one was going to get their hands on that without noticing. He then looked around for a book case, and saw Blake stocking it up with her own books.

"Uh…Blake?" he called out over Yang's bed, kneeling beside his hammock on the other side of it, holding piles of books in either hand.

"Think you could make room for any of these?" he asked, smiling. Blake looked at him in confusion briefly, not understanding what, then saw the piles of books in his hands. The massive, overflowing crate of books behind him. The huge paperbacks, hardcovers binders and folders full of pages upon pages of blissful ink. She felt her draw drop to the floor as she saw everything that he had in his possession. Moving over to him with preternatural speed, she basically started salivating over the repository of books before her…all unread by her…unknown…untouched. She snapped out of it when she saw Solaris looking at her with the look a person might give a madman, but then it passed, as he leant in and whispered.

"I adore books. Every single one I found on my travels, I kept. Every book in a forgotten home in the wilds, every book in some ruin. Every book I could afford, I got. They kept me company for over two whole years, when there was nothing else to do so." He explained to her. Blake felt like there must've been love hearts in her eyes upon seeing this collection. She was about to reach to pick one up before she looked at him and asked permission. He nodded, and she eagerly begun looking through the piles. Books of fantasy, books of adventure, tales, poems, crime, drama, rank upon rank of the comedic fantasy series "Dustworld" even the odd romance, which she found highly amusing, but this was before she saw one book in particular, buried beneath the others, a book she could not believe she saw when she pulled it out. Could it be. _Could it be?_ _IT IS!_ She cried internally in joy and happiness. Before her she had found an original print first edition book one volume one of "Ninja's of love", one of the rarest books she could think off, with the author's signature on the front cover with a personalized message. _It's been signed! Signed!_ Blake had to calm down to prevent a fangirling induced heart attack.

She was so distracted that she didn't notice Solaris look over her shoulder at what she was so enraptured with.

"Oh" he said in a small voice, seeing the book. "That. I found that in an abandoned bookstore, in a town left to the Grimm. The owner must've been a collector of old or valuable books. I've glanced through the series-" _The whole lot,_ he added internally, _but she doesn't need to know that. "_ I suppose you can have it. Consider it a team gift." He said, not wanting to seem like it was her specifically he was being generous too. Blake nodded slowly, blushing profusely at such a valuable gift, in her mind. She leaned in and whispered to him in his ear-"I own the whole series. Maybe we should…read it sometime. _Together"_ She added, winking. Solaris cleared his throat and was about to respond when Yang, seeing, at first glance, what appeared to be flirting between the two, decided to burst in a separate the two from each other, and get Solaris closer to her and further from Blake.

"Howdy folks!" she shouted cheerfully, moving between the two of them and not-so-subtly using her chest to corral Sol away from Blake and nearer his hammock. "How's it going?"

Solaris sighed as Blake wandered off, to hide her book(s) and, Sol thought, a subtle blush on her cheeks.

"So, uh, decorating over yet?" Solaris asked her, looking around at the room, which appeared to have become subject to a low yield nuclear device when he had his back turned. Beds were piled on top of each other, pictures adorned the wall, shelves and closets had won a war of supremacy with the wall and chairs and desks were engaged in a similar conflict with the beds and floor.

"This…isn't going to work" Weiss said, frowning.

"I don't see a way either" Solaris agreed, joining the girls in examining the room.

"We could ditch some of our stuff…or the beds…and *GASP* REPLACE THEM WITH BUNK BEDS!" Said an ecstatic Ruby, and after that, no amount of complaints from Weiss could deter her, and Yang and Blake joined in. Weiss looked at Solaris.

"Aren't you going to say something?" She snapped at him.

"Not my problem. I'm not sleeping in these beds" he said to Weiss, holding her gaze as she fixed him with a chilling stare.

"I think we should put it to a vote" she finished, breaking off from the stare.

"I think we just did" Blake retorted, and then they charged past Solaris and begun building with such vigour that made him wander why they hadn't raised a fortress of evil from which to rule their kingdoms. This feeling was gone when he saw Ruby use gravity defying ropes to support her bed in the air, and Blake used some hefty hardbacks to support hers. These paperbacks must be her least favourite books, he reasoned.

After this building frenzy, he sat in his hammock and looked at them all closely. This was going to be an interesting year, he thought, as Ruby looked a timetable before being interrupted by Weiss.

"9:00? Did you say 9:00 o'clock? It's 8:55 you dunce!" she shouted at Ruby in regards to class. Solaris shot up.

"To the class mobile!" he said, standing up heroically and pointing a finger in the air as if he was a super hero. His antics went appreciated by Ruby and Yang, yet Blake just shook her head and Weiss looked at him like he was mad. She was beginning to think everyone in this room of hers was.

They all piled out of the door at once, past the JNPR dorm room, where the team was looking out the door in alarm as team RWBYS rushed to class, united in the face of the horrors of the timetable and tardiness.

Solaris smiled to himself as he ran with them. He was beginning to enjoy these people. One in particular.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: A Troubled Past

Solaris was…disappointed.

Which was, in itself, an understatement.

The lecture had just ended, with a clearly enraged Weiss storming off, Ruby doubting herself, and Blake and Yang nowhere to be found. They had left pretty quickly after class, whilst Solaris had lingered behind. He had hoped to discuss a matter with the Professor, a matter of his past…

Solaris was walking around aimlessly, reflecting over the past day. He recalled all the times Ruby sniggered in class, Weiss and her indignant reaction, the fight with the Grimm, and the resultant storming off. He hated this. This, _this,_ this was what he hated. This is why he hated teams, and hated being forced to deal with them. Too many times had he lost something to the mistakes of a single person, the one person who could not leave something be, whose anger and emotions overpowered their logic and rationale. Solaris had lost too much to that to see it all again. He felt he needed…isolation.

As he wandered onto the balcony outside class, he saw Weiss, alone, staring mindlessly into space. Solaris was about to turn around and walk back inside, rather than disturb her, when she spun around, fixed her with her cold stare, and beckoned him over.

Solaris strode to her, a faint frown on his face, his expression guarded. Weiss waited for him to reach arms-length before she asked him a very odd question.

"This morning…I heard from Blake that Yang walked into the bathroom when you were there. You claimed you didn't realise the door could lock. But you did. You did it the night before. You made sure of that. That's the first thing someone of your…background…would do"

Solaris breathed in slightly. Someone had noticed.

"Indeed it would be. Yet…I made a mistake. I was otherwise distracted. Thoughts were running through my head. Thoughts of…well, it does not matter what they were of. It only matters I no longer have them in my head as of now". He said, his tone soft, his shoulders low. Weiss was slightly taken aback. Solaris always seemed to be this rather showy rouge, who, while preferring solitude and quiet, had an unsettling eccentricity when he got worked up, something that spoke of a serious issue he may have. He also seemed to possess somewhat unnatural insight, a sort of unspoken understanding, when it came to detecting peoples moods. And here he was...feeling…sad?

Weiss gently put her hand on his shoulder, causing him to flinch back from her touch. Weiss still had Professor Port's lecture and advise fresh in her head, and was determined to make amends with Ruby…but she also felt she needed to understand Solaris too, if they were to work together. He had been kind to her before, an act of great kindness. She would repay him in understanding.

"What…what is it that troubles you?" She asked, familiar with a dark and troubling childhood. Solaris, however, had suffered darkness his entire life. And it seemed now he was going to reveal some of that to her.

"When I was nine, living in Vacuo, in a dry, parched region, outside the city, ages from it, by some standards, we lived under the rule of a…a tyrant. This man ruled his own little kingdom, far removed from the others. He had Hunters to deter his realm of Grimm, and in return, we payed him with…everything. Anything. Food. Water. Lien. Whatever we could muster. Yet one day, a Grimm herd broke through the walls of our town. They…slaughtered everyone. All of them. My parents died that day. Cut down on the spot. I escaped with my sister, my younger sister Minerva. She was eight. We avoided the Grimm and fled to the next village, a village we had been to on every weekend. It had walls, and it had hope. Hope of survival. We found it, too, had been destroyed. Several friends from that village, Romus and Romulus, along with Ditissimo and Elena, dear childhood friends, had made it out. It seemed preposterous that children, out of all those who died, lived. We wandered deep into the dry wasteland, knowing that no home remained for us. The Tyrant who had protected us our who lives had failed us. He had nothing for us. We wandered…for months on end, and we used every trick we were taught, all of us…to survive."

Solaris looked like he was dealing with a great internal struggle, which he was. Retelling his life was hard on him, harder then he dared admit.

"We found some mountains, and deep gorges, full of trees, water…life. An Desert Oasis Valley, a saviour for us. It became our home, and there, we survived, and grew up. For years we lingered there. They were great years. In that time, we became a well established group. Rules, traditions, etc" Solaris smiled faintly at that memory, the memory of those times.

"It lasted until I was twelve. One day, some Grimm came into the valley, something they had never done before. We held them off with what we could, but they overwhelmed us. We fled. Again. Our second home lost. I'm glad that no one died that day. If not for Romus and Romulus, the twins, who were eighteen by that point, we would surely have died. They were the only trained fighters, taught by a Hunter. They had weapons. We did not. Yet they told us everything they knew. They saved us."

Solaris laughed to himself at the memory of the twins, the joyous, jovial twins who fought like demons.

"We wandered again, and found the ruins of some long dead town. It was old, ancient even, yet it was upon a hill in the mountains, sheer cliff face on all but one side, with a single path leading down into the smaller hills below. It became our fortress. There we found ancient weapons, spears, bows…knives. We trained and trained with them. We had water there, found in the wells, and food in the form of the goats and mammals that made these hills there home. It was hard. But we did it"

Solaris clenched his fist.

"Then came the bandits. This part of Vacuo was not some desolate wasteland, as the maps would have you believe. Here there was some shattered form of life, some offshoot exile realm of criminal marauders. They came and they killed Romus. His gun…his weapon…he gifted to me" He motioned to his SMG/Boomerang on his back. "He called Desert Wind" he muttered. Weiss was in shock. Everything he was telling her…off a world outside the kingdoms, tragedy, pain, death, loss…it was all so alien, yet to her…it all sounded so very, very familiar in places. Weiss only nodded and gestured for him to continue.

"We killed them. All of them, down to the last one. Aged 11 to 18 we butchered them. Violently. And we felt no regret. Romulus would have done it a thousand times over and he would not have felt the least bit of regret nor guilt for his actions"

Solaris, by now, was gripping the railings along the edge of the roof so hard his knuckles were white.

"And yet, it was as if fate wanted to spite me. In the next month, Ditissimo, who was 17, along with Romulus, tracked those bandits to their base. Elena and I stayed behind with Minerva. We waited hours and hours for them to return. And only one dead. Ditissimo had died in the fight, it seemed. Romulus was so very quiet when he came back. He handed Elena Ditisimmo's weapon, the blade called 'Sun Lash'. She made it her own, as he would've wanted"

Weiss nodded. This tale, his life, it was all a bit…overwhelming, yet she remained composed and outwardly unshaken. Solaris continued, without Weiss even needing to do so. It seemed at this point he would've kept on talking regardless.

"Two more years past, and in those years Romulus died. Grimm. Our enemy since always. We killed the ones responsible. Romulus weapon was gifted to Minerva. I was 14. Then, it just so happened that we found something. The bandits home. The ones who we had met years ago were part of a large web of exiled criminals. Those who commit crime in Vacuo can always take exile over imprisonment, after all. It seemed a lot had. This was far too large a place for us to handle on our own though. So we waited, bided our time, found Grimm, trained, went over and over all we knew. We did this for eight months. Then, suddenly, someone showed up at our home. A person of age the same as me and Elena, 15. He was tall, and proud, and well trained, armed with a sword and rifle. He said he had wandered long and far, as part of his training. He wanted to be a Hunter. He told us he had come out here, deep into the wilds, to prove it"

Solaris seemed to grow angry upon recounting this.

"I should've killed him then and there" he muttered, to Weiss shock, but, as he elaborated, she felt nothing but pity for the figure speaking to her. Pity deeper than any she could currently recall feeling.

"He took a liking to my sister. The wrong kind, I always thought. She was 14. He was 15. He was arrogant, stubborn, and shameless. He could not conceive in his mind that he could be in the wrong, that he could fail. I wish that Romulus had lived to meet him. Romulus would've set him right…or killed him. Elena and I made sure Minerva didn't ever get…intimate…so to speak, with this newcomer, who called himself Harold. Harold always seemed to disregard everything we did. He did not listen to our teams plans when we hunted, he did not take our advice when fighting Grimm, he did not take our advice when searching for more water, nor for survival in general. He thought he should lead us, that he should have our respect without earning it. Elena hated him, yet I tolerated him. However, soon came the big event. We had waited, and observed, and the bandit stronghold was vulnerable. They were out doing…something. Supply run, hunting, recon, we did not know. What we did know that if we struck now, we could destroy this place forever. We were ready." Solaris smiled grimly, his expression morbid.

"Yet…we were mistaken, for Harold, even after five months of ineffectual team coordination, had failed to get the message into that thick skull of his. We work as a team. Always. He got Minerva captured when she was doing a recon of the walls and abandoned her. He came back to us and Elena wanted to slit his throat. He hate blinded her to the fact that we needed to get my sister back. So we made a new plan, infiltrate base, save Minerva, then destroy it from within. I would get Minerva whilst Elena would sabotage their supply rooms and then detonate their ammo reserves. Harold would lock their gates open and sound an alarm. Draw Grimm in for miles away. Whilst the meagre bandit populace died fighting the Grimm, we made an elated getaway. At least, that was the plan. I was halfway through my job of reaching her when Harold through caution to the wind and attacked them. Openly. He revealed us all, and they…" Solaris seemed to hesitate before continuing. "…they…killed her. Shot through the head. Point blank. Her Aura could not withstand it…it seemed, not after the fight she gave when they took her. She had taken down four of them. Four fully grown men killed by a 14 year old girl who had never received proper training. She was good. Very good. I loved her. And they just s _hot her._ I…I couldn't quite process it at first. I had lost someone else. Another one. I heard Harold yell out, I heard him fighting. So I carried on. I made it to Elena and then we detonated the ammo reserves after we fled. The base went up, end all that was left of Minerva with it. I didn't even get to bury her. I couldn't get her body back."

Solaris shook his head woefully, clenched his fists, his neck stiff.

"Elena immediately punched Harold to the ground, and he fought her off. He drew his weapon, so I was forced to restrain them. Elena screamed that it was his fault, if he had followed the plan, like we have done for 6 years, the she would've lived. She screamed in such anger that I knew the Grimm would come soon enough, drawn to such outrage. I knew my sorrow would also draw them in…my… _suffering."_ Solaris shivered as he said that last word.

Weiss looked on, the silence broken only by the sound of him breathing in. She could not believe it. She refused to believe it. He saw his own sister die, after all the years he had protected her, after all they had endured, all they had lost…and she was taken from him…his last family…gone.

"Then came the worst part. Harold blamed _me. ME._ He claimed we should've fought harder for her, for the person he, and he alone, truly loved. He must've been crazy if he thought that was true. I knew then, the truth. He was from the kingdom of Vacuo. He was all the way from the bright light, the saviour of the land, the place where no one truly knew suffering. So, that night, I left Elena. I took Harold, and told him to show me the way to Vacuo. He had gotten here alone, so going back shouldn't be a problem. It took several weeks, but we made it. Outside the walls of Vacuo, a kilometre or so away, I enacted my revenge. I shot him in his legs and broke his arms. He could crawl to Vacuo, and know the barest fraction of the pain I felt. He should be thankful, I told him, that I didn't tie him up and live him for the Grimm to eat him alive. He whimpered something at me, and I punched him in the jaw. I don't think I broke it. But I hope I did. It was the least he deserved. It felt unjust to let him off so easily, yet…my sister loved him, for whatever reason, she saw something in him…something noble, something pure. I resent both him and myself for that day. After that…well, I returned to the old town to see if Elena was there. She had left some time ago it seemed. So I was alone. Well and truly. I wandered the wilds for two years. Alone. Until I found, one day, a Hunter who took him with me, and together we fought and hunted. Then I came here"

Weiss took all this in, the vast scope of his story, all the pain and loss and suffering. All of it was so dark, so grim, she found herself shaken and slightly afraid of the person who stood before her now. He was remorseless, and a killer, someone who held no qualms about the killing of his fellow man, someone who would enact horrible revenge to satisfy himself. Yet, here he was. On a path for redemption. Yet…how far would he go to redeem himself?

"I spent most of those years wandering in the areas outside the walls, fighting to clear the area around Vacuo from Grimm. I spent a great deal of those two years reading, and writing. I had many lairs and outposts to use, all hidden away from prying eyes. I made myself at peace, or as much as I could be. I vowed that no one should ever have to suffer as much as me, no one should ever have to know suffering at all if I could help it. So I guess becoming a hunter is part of that. I need to redeem myself. I need to become better."

Weiss breathed in. This was…a lot to take in. Almost too much. Yet he had confided all to her. He had told her everything. However, there were some niggling details that stuck with her, but Solaris had become silent for the first time in a long while. Weiss was not aware of how much time had passed, but is seemed a great deal had. She swallowed, unsure of what to say, for once, her composure, her upbringing, her vast reserves of knowledge had failed her. She was unsure how to proceed for once in her life.

"I…it's…redeeming yourself. It's a noble purpose…a…a…noble cause. Yet it doesn't sound like you're at peace with yourself. Not yet." She told him, her words soft, measured. "Does Ozpin know about this? Does anyone but me?" she asked him quietly. Solaris nodded.

"Ozpin yes, but…not the whole story. I told him some. I've told you more…the…darker side." He said, then pulled out a golden watch from inside his uniform.

"Oh…well look at that!" he laughed, back to his normal self, like a curtain pulled over a play. Solaris smiled at Weiss, her merely nodded.

"Time to return to our room. Can't be gone too long, you and I. People might start to talk" he said, winking. Weiss, shocked back into her normal self, snorted at this statement before formulating a cunning comeback.

"Yes…indeed. And you can't have Yang knowing, can you?" she grinned evilly, to which Solaris regarded her with a look of (mock) loathing.

"… _Really?"_ he retorted slowly, his gaze fixed on her. Weiss held her head high and marched past him. "You heard me" she said as she brushed past, onwards to the dorm and her own confession to be had with Ruby.

Solaris watched her go, and felt as if a great weight had passed from his shoulders. Perhaps he would not need to go to Port to tell him about his past, perhaps Weiss had been the one to talk to. Perhaps the demons of his past were finally relenting. Solaris felt an unfamiliar sensation…hope. He had not felt that in a long time. A long…long time.

He walked back inside and dared to dream of a future, a future free from the darkness of his past, bright and full of promise. He was beginning to feel truly happy when a voice spoke, a voice inside his own head, but one that was in no way native to it. A voice that rasped in such an alien manner to his own thoughts, that wormed its way so insidiously into his mind, that he knew at once the source. It was not him that thought such things.

" _You really believe yourself to be free of suffering? Or have you forgotten your title already? You've learnt every lesson we taught you, and passed all the tests…but do we need to repeat one? Say…the suffering of love lost?"_

The voice died down to an echo and left a burning sensation in Solaris head. It seemed while he may free himself of his demons and his past, they would not free himself from him. And know they knew. They knew where he was. And they were coming…

For Solaris was not entirely honest earlier. While he did survive two years in the wild, he did not do so alone…nor was he doing the noble actions he made out to do, for in this time, he conspired with an evil ancient and cruel beyond understanding…one that was now coming for him once more, to finish what they started out there, in the wilds…finish together.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Trial by Combat:

 **A/N: Reviews would be greatly appreciated. I would like to know how this story is being received. Otherwise, enjoy this next chapter! And just so you know, Solaris's semblance is essentially Biotics from Mass Effect, with powers like Lift, Throw and Stasis being the ones most similar to what Solaris does.**

It was class as usual. Some time had passed between Solaris's confession to Weiss and all the details that ensured.

He was sure the others knew, as they maintained an usual quiet around him, with Ruby looking at him out of the corner of her eye, Blake's quiet looks and Yang's (somewhat) dialled down chatter. Weiss herself seemed to act as if nothing had been said, but whenever they were alone in the room, she would regard him thoughtfully. This mood didn't seem to extend to all things, as when he took Blake up on her offer to read "Ninja's of Love" together (With him explaining in great depth that he never actually _liked_ the series-much to Blake's disappointment-rather, he had read them in a period of isolated boredom. So passed a period of vaguely uncomfortable discussion of the books literary qualities (Or, rather, lack of it, in some cases).

Blake found that Solaris had interest in another, far more complex and detailed world, the world of "Dust and Fire". He had read every single one of the books out to date, a series about betrayal and treachery, war and love, lust and greed. He loved the series to death, and passed on that passion to Blake, who begun to read the series, burying her head in the enormous paperback whenever she had the chance.

Yet here and now, there were other things to be occupied with.

Combat class.

It was round after round of randomly determined sparring between two people, from any team. They would fight until ones Aura was depleted, in tournament style conditions. Solaris had yet to be chosen to take the fight to the field, much to his annoyance. He wanted to fight _something._ That's what they were here for. He sat back in his chair, watching some nameless person beat the hell out of some other nameless person, the fighting having lasted 3 minutes in duration already. The lacklustre skill of one of the participants, compared to the other, made it a one sided bout. The fight ended with nameless figure A using his throwing axe to hit the second combatant square in the chest, removing the last of his depleted Aura. Nameless figure A bowed to the crowd before shaking his opponent's hand.

"He had some skill" Yang leaned over and said to him, watching the nameless figure walk off the stage. "Did you catch his name?" She asked him, her lilac eyes watching him warmly.

Solaris shook his head slowly. "Wasn't paying close enough attention, I'm afraid. Sorry, names were never really my strong suite" he muttered quietly. Yang bumped him in the shoulder.

"Ah, don't worry about it. I'll find out later" she said, leaning back over to Blake on her other side to ask the same thing. Yang had a very odd definition of 'later' it seemed. Solaris was about to content himself to another round of silent observation when Goodwitch announced to the class that the next round would be Nora VS Solaris, much to the delight of Nora and the silent note of approval from Solaris.

"Ohhh! It's you!" Yang yelled excitedly as Solaris got up and proceeded to where Nora was already standing, hammer in hand. He heard the cheers of JNPR for Nora and RWBY(S) for him, with Yang loudly yelling "Go SOL! Go SOL! Go SOL!" over and over again, to the annoyance of their professor.

Solaris looked over at Nora, who was already spoiling for the fight, it seemed, her hyperactive nature bent into a destructive eagerness to fight. Solaris remained calmer, and quietly discarded his trench coat, folding it into a nice pile and placing it at the side of the arena, revealing, for the first time for the masses, his silver armour he wore below. Many knew he had this suit on at all times, but few, aside from those in RWBY, had seen it in anything more than a glance. It was a full body suit, shining silver plate mail over a soft black weave below, elegantly curved and shaped to his body, with a large crystalline silver orb in the middle of his breastplate. Nora looked at it and let out a low "Ohhhhhhhhh" at the sight of the jewel, which was easily the size of her fist. Solaris smiled at her, giving a semi mocking half bow before drawing his weapon and aiming it to his eye level.

Goodwitch waited for the crowd to die down in its excitement before beginning the countdown.

"Three"

Solaris reached behind his back…

"Two"

…grabbed the hilt of the knife that lay there…

"One"

…and begun to pull it free from its sheath…

"Commence!"

…and then spun around, using his momentum to throw Desert Wind into the air, the boomerang transformation already in place as it fired its rounds into the ground, right in front of the now charging Nora, while Solaris pulled his blade out and then stretched out his newly empty hand into an open palm, and willed his semblance into action. Time seemed to slow as Nora rushed through the hail of bullets, only to be thrown off her feet by some unseen force. She landed on her back several feet behind, yet, to her credit, turned the violent motion into a backflip to right herself. She narrowed her eyes. Clearly Solaris wasn't messing around. She looked up to see him within hitting distance of her, diving into a low roll and bringing his fist into an uppercut that connected with her jaw, sending her onto her back once more. Solaris pirouetted on the spot after landing this blow to extend his arm and collect Desert Wind from the air as it circled back to his grasp, his knife in the other hand. Nora jumped to her feet and swung her hammer with such speed that Solaris was taken by surprise, resulting in him being flung back into the wall and a hefty amount of Aura lost. Nora followed through with another attack, a sidewards blow, but Solaris leapt to the side, causing Nora to miss the stroke. She maintained her balance and then turned to face Solaris once more, but he was not going to let her gain the initiative. He opened fire with Desert Wind, the bullets shrieking past Nora as she deftly dived under the hail of gunfire, yet the rate of fire was so great that several shots connected, the kinetic force staggering her, badly depleting her Aura. Desert Wind hit like nothing anyone had ever seen before, the bullets leaving glowing smoke trails in their wake and causing visible flashes of light as they struck their mark. The spectators watched with mixed reactions and emotions as Nora and Solaris circled each other, wised to their others ways. Solaris attempted to dive in and under, but Nora parried with her hammers haft, whilst she then attempted a follow through, to which Solaris deftly avoided. Amongst the onlookers, Yang watched in quiet fascination as Solaris danced and weaved past Nora's blows, while, at the same time, Ren quietly urged Nora on to land a blow that could tilt the fight in her favour.

Solaris, however, then decided to do something so unexpected that the entire crown let out a collective gasp. He sheathed his knife and returned Desert Wind to its home on his back, and then faced Nora with closed fists. Nora seemed quietly taken aback by this change in pace, yet decided to exploit this opening. Charging forward, she jumped into the air, preparing a devastating downward blow. She laughed gleefully. It had been a good fight, but it was going to be cut short.

"Sorry about this one!" She babbled as she begun to fall towards the ground. Her elation was short lived, however, as she found her downward momentum had ceased. She looked down, perplexed, to see Solaris holding her in the air with his semblance. Try as she might, there was simply nothing she could do to escape the gravity field he was manipulating. She was frozen in place, quite literally, stuck several meters of the ground. Solaris was holding her there with one arm outright and angled to her, his fist clenched. His other arm was free.

"I'm sorry about this next bit" he replied, and raised his other arm, and Nora felt herself rising through the air, helpless in his little gravity bubble. She protested loudly as she was raised to the ceiling, then felt all the air leave her as she accelerated to the ground at rapid speeds, the floor coming up to meet her. She hit the ground with a _crash,_ the stage buckling beneath the force of impact. Nora felt her Aura weaken to near breaking point when she was lifted free, still suspended in the air. She was raised to Solaris eye level, who smiled grimly at her, the jewel in his armour glowing with an inner silver light, as if there was a storm within.

"This is the part where you might feel it a little bit" he said apologetically, and drew both his arms back, elbows bent, fists clenched and facing downwards. Nora felt herself caught in the field once more, and saw Solaris glow, literally g _low,_ silver, as he drew himself back and then propelled them both forward, into the wall, Solaris's kinetic assault smashing the wall into fragments and shattering Nora's Aura down to the red as she hit the wall like a ragdoll, Solaris standing a few feet away, his armour aglow with the eldritch silver tendrils that crackled and sparked along the length of his armour. His eyes held an inner radiance, a sort of silver sheen, that quickly dispelled as he dialled back his Semblance. His Aura was in the dark orange.

Extending a hand to the stricken Nora, he helped her up, her eyes frazzled, yet swiftly returning to their normal self as she broke out in a huge smile.

"That. Was. AWESOME!" She yelled out excitedly, throwing her arms into their air, jumping up and down excitedly. Solaris smiled and gave her the same half bow as when they started, his arm extended in a flourish. The crowd broke out in cheers at witnessing this new competitor unleash such a power, and even Goodwitch herself admitted that this was the signs of someone who had mastered their semblance with a degree of unnatural talent rarely seen in anything less than a fully-fledged Hunter or Huntress.

In an ecstatic smile, Nora returned to her seat, to a (quietly relieved) Ren's thanks. Jaune and Pyrrha watched her as she regaled them with her experience, whilst Solaris retrieved his coat, and returned to Team RWBY, who greeted him with cheers and excited back slapping (Ruby), nods (Weiss), handshakes (Blake) and hugs (Yang). Solaris, for all his prowess, struggled to free himself from the inescapable might of Yang's hugs, to the rest of team RWBYS's amusement. Solaris shot them a quick glare, a glare which said "Vocalise any thoughts or statements about this moment in public and I shall remove you from this plane of reality".

The room died down as Goodwitch used her powers to fix the shattered wall, with a quick reprimand to Solaris about moderating his power use in future engagements, before moving on to the next fight. Solaris sat back in his seat and felt his head burn from using his semblance so dramatically. He curled and uncurled his fingers to make sure none where broken, doing the same for his toes. After this fight, there were some other opponents who fought with varying degree of skill, yet Solaris cared not, for he had fought, and the fight had proven joyful, a chance to use skills he had not used since he had left the wilds.

XXX

Yang smiled internally at Sol and his victory. She had not seen such a manner of fighting before, combining precision delicacy with brash aggression to form a style unlike any other she knew about. He seemed not to care for the tactics that others would have him use, combining any and all styles he saw fit to achieve his victory…yet with a semblance like his, he could get away with almost anything. She did not know the limits of what he could throw or levitate, but she felt that they would find out. Solaris never really spoke that often by his own violation, but when he did, he seemed to project an air of unnatural intensity, a sort of eccentric madness that spread to people near him. Yang regarded him closely, his blonde hair in disarray after the fight, falling into his blue eyes. He looked so content that Yang found herself feeling a similar sort of easy bliss spreading to her. This feeling was cut short when Blake tapped her on the shoulder, giving her a smile and a nod as she motioned with her head to Solaris.

"Yang…you can't stare at him all day" she said with a smile ghosting her lips. Yang rounded on her, her expression angry. "I wasn't staring…I was thinking!" she retorted, but before she could follow that up with another statement the bell rang, signalling the end of classes for the day. Immediately, the classroom dissolved into the pandemonium a class always does when the bell goes and bright light of freedom shows it radiant face in the class. People scrambled for the doors in a mad rush, yet Team RWBYS took it slow. Well, four of them did. Ruby immediately rushed past them in a whirlwind of roses, leaving the others behind. Solaris shook his head.

"Does she ever walk anywhere normally?" he asked the team in general. "What could possibly be so exciting that it needs to be attended to right away?"

Yang thought for a moment, before her face light up as she remembered.

"Isn't it all you can eat deserts day today?" she asked, and realization dawned on them. They were going to miss out…

The team suddenly fragmented as they all charged forward in a blitz of madness and insanity, each one trying to forge a path for themselves to reach the cafeteria first. Goodwitch watched the students charge out with unnatural vigour, and shook her head at the thought of the madness that would ensure. If only they applied the same eagerness to class, she thought ruefully.

Meanwhile, Yang was moving like a women possessed to reach the promised all you can eat desserts before this once in a lifetime/once in a month day was gone forever. As she charged through (and over) hapless students, she realised she had left the others behind. Ah well. Ruby had left them behind, so if the leader did that, it must mean every person for themselves. She just hoped she could get a seat next to Solaris.

XXX

Meanwhile, many hundreds of miles away, within a dark vault dimly lit by candles and a softly glowing jewel, a figure stood in a dark robe, their face concealed behind a white mask, with eye slits carved in the shape of some ancient, unknowable pattern. Elegant black plate mail extended over their whole body, identical in every single way to the armour worn by Solaris, down to the fist sized jewel in the breastplate, except this jewel glowed red, not silver, and their armour held the reflection of it, the light casted by it projecting the figure in a sinister style. They remained motionless as they examined a device in their hands, a device which was beeping consistently every ten seconds, the green flash lighting up the hidden lair.

"… _it seems as if he wants us to find him…"_ The figure muttered, to which the jewel in his chest alighted in response, heralding the reply within his head.

"… _he is still one of us. He still shares our dream. He has strayed, yes, but he knows the end goal he seeks is the same as ours."_ Rasped this mysterious, second, voice.

"… _How can you be sure? Has he not strayed too far? He is beyond our reach to speak to him, and he no longer projects into the void. What could that mean, other than he has lost his way?"_ The first voice said, the sound solid as the figure uttered the words to the jewel in his armour.

"… _we can dispatch someone to retrieve him. Who should be most suited to that task? Would E-"_ begun the second voice, its ethereal sound hollow and dull.

"… _That person has always liked him. That person knew them by name, not by title. That person would be the end of us if they were dispatched. We should send the second one"_

"… _the second one. Agony incarnate for him. He knows all about what they've done. Are you wanting to terrorize him into returning? Would you be so foolish as to think that would work?"_ admonished the second voice as it listened to the figures suggestion, to their disapproval.

"… _careful now. Just because of your title you're not free of your namesake now are you…Death?"_ replied the figure, anger radiating of them as they clenched the device in their hands, causing it to shatter apart.

"… _and how do you propose to strike me down? I am not there. Don't let your title deceive you. Do not forget what you are…like he has"_

The figure stood up for the first time, revealing them to stand tall at eight feet in height.

"… _I feel that no matter how we proceed, it is likely that the fourth shall come for the fifth. You are the third, what is it we shall do?"_

"… _Hatred, Agony, Death, Entropy…and the other…Suffering"_

" _You still think he would use that name? His title is discarded-"_

" _We never discard our titles. They are part of us forever once taken. He cannot deny that"_

" _So…how would you proceed?"_

" _That is not the question. The question, rather, is how do WE proceed. We shall retrieve him as one, just like we did the first time we met. We shall return him to our fold and then withdraw. The hour draws ever nearer, does it not?"_

The figure nodded, and then ended the stream of communication. He promptly left the vault room he was in and entered a second room, full of workbenches, tables, tools and supplies. Retrieving a black staff from a pile of weapons, the figure strode over to a door, dimly seen in the light of the room, and entered a key code into the pad beside it.

It was time that he went to Vale. He had an old friend to see.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: An unfamiliar world:

 **A/N: For those who can't handle cruel and unusual/sadistic deaths, it might be best to avoid the end of the chapter when it switches perspectives from Yang. Otherwise, enjoy this chapter!**

"Sol…what are you looking at?" asked an inquisitive Yang, who was standing next to a baffled looking Solaris, gazing intently at the vast array of food as if he could not understand the fundamental basis of its existence nor purpose.

"It's just…all this food. I was not aware dessert could manifest in so many forms. I am aware…vaguely…of its existence, but…not like this…" He said, regarding the food in question. Solaris seemed particularly confused by ice cream.

"And what…exactly…is this?" he said, holding up a bowl of ice cream as if it might be lethal. Yang laughed at is naivety.

"Are you telling me you've never had ice cream before? Didn't you live in Vacuo? I would've thought that was ice cream central" She said, prodding him gently in the ribs. Solaris gave the ice cream a closer look, drawing odd glances from people nearby. Yang grabbed him by the arm and led him forcefully over to the toppings section.

"Well, I think I should immediately readjust your lifetime to ice cream eaten ratio Sol. So here-" she begun, in the manner of a great leader giving an inspiring speech, gesturing expansively over the buffet of toppings available

"-all of this is yours to choose from"

Solaris felt as if someone had told him to build something without giving him the plans. He had no idea on how to proceed.

"Uh…" he said, ineffectually, to Yang's eternal amusement. He looked at the bowl in hand, then to the buffet, then to Yang.

"Uh…?" he repeated, this time changing the inflection to make it sound like a question. Yang had never seen someone so befuddled by food, and she found it hilarious.

"Oh just chose one. Chose chocolate sprinkles, that's like the bread and butter of ice cream toppings. Step one." She explained, pointing to the sprinkles. Solaris decided to dive further down the hole at this point and go all out.

"Sprinkles it is then" He declared, placing a dusting of sprinkles over his ice cream. Before he could even blink, Yang had dragged him back to the table and was sitting next to him.

"Now eat" She commanded him, placing the spoon in his hand.

"Err…Yang?" Came Ruby's voice, looking at her sister like she was possessed. "Why are you trying to force feed ice cream to Sol?"

Solaris put the first spoonful in his mouth.

"Because he has never had any before" Yang said, failing to notice Blake's warning signs and Weiss's rapid head shaking before she finished the sentence, realising what she had just said. Ruby's face slowly morphed from confusion, to shock, to one of vindictive determination to rectify this supreme injustice.

"WHAT?" She yelled aloud, shaking the table and causing rose petals to fall from her cape. "NEVER? HAVE YOU EVER HAD CHOCOLATE? WHAT ABOUT FUDGE? OR COOKIES? YOU MUST'VE HAD COOKIES BEFORE? PLEASE TELL ME YOU'VE AT LEAST HAD COOKIES?!"

The rest of the team shook their heads whilst Solaris pondered if he could use his semblance to escape planetary orbit to avoid the inevitable path he saw being lay before him. Blake had her head in her hands and Weiss was pale(er). Yang meanwhile tried to salvage something from the situation before Ruby reeled in Nora to discover what other foods that Solaris had not eaten and probably didn't even know the name (or existence) of.

"Well, I am sure he has had them at s _ome_ point. Right? Right, Sol?" she said, nudging him under the table so he would get the message. Solaris, however, decided to make things worse, just to see how big a flame he could get going.

"…Can't…" He begun, and time seemed to slow

"…Say…" Blake, with her heightened senses and reflexes, realised where this was going and began to sit up.

"…I…" Solaris continued, as Blake had cleared her seat and taken a step for the door. Weiss and Yang had only just begun to realise what he was doing.

"…Ha…" Blake had leapt over the table and was reaching out for Solaris.

"...V…" Blake tackled Solaris and put her hand on his mouth, knocking him over and pushing him to the floor, straddling him with both legs and raising her other hand to her mouth to make a gesture to be quiet. It seemed she had got him _just_ before he had finished saying a sentence that could doom them all to endless nights of trying foods with Ruby and Nora force feeding him until he was neared the brink of death (or, failing that, severe issues in the digestive region).

"Don't finish that sentence" she uttered quietly. Blake suddenly became keenly aware of how quiet everything was. She looked up to see her team, and a significant portion of the dining hall, staring at her and Solaris, or, more specifically, her position on top of him.

" _Blake…"_ Yang said, trying very, very hard to keep her voice level to what is considered normally acceptable and an appropriate response to such an action, without betraying any other feelings that may influence such a thing. Ruby was slightly red in the face and Weiss was not looking at such a "juvenile display". Solaris, however, was shocked at how fast it had happened, and, while not to anyone else's awareness, the fact that he had placed his hand on the hilt of his knife and was just about to draw it before he realised who it was that had tackled him.

Blake suddenly leapt up and, calmly, with a great deal of composure, promptly turned and left the hall for the gardens. Solaris released the grip in his hilt and thought how fast she had reacted…almost…c _atlike._ He looked down and saw his armour had a stain of ice cream on it. That fun little moment turned sour rather fast. He had no idea what had just transpired, why Blake had reacted so. It seemed a bit odd for her. But if he was sure of something, it wasn't the tackle that made her alarmed, it was the speed at which she did it, the reflexes involved. No training could do that for someone. Something else was at play here.

Solaris, looking around at the hall, realised how many people were looking at him, some beginning to chuckle, others shouting out how he should go join his "girlfriend". Not wanting to stick around, but not wanting to follow Blake to the gardens, he, too, left the hall to return to the dorm room, leaving his team behind to finish their meal. He may as well go clean his armour while he was at it.

XXX

Yang looked at Ruby, who looked at Weiss and then back to her.

"What was all that about?" She asked, after they had processed the sequence of events. Yang couldn't offer any explanation. Blake had suddenly got really flighty and Solaris had left without a word. Not wanting to abandon her partner, she got up, concern plastered on her face, to find Blake. Ruby was about to follow when Weiss put her hand on her shoulder to restrain her. She knew this was something for Yang to do alone.

 _Where would they go?_ Yang thought. She had saw them go of in different directions, but it was Blake she had to go find first, being her partner and all. Solaris would be fine by himself. He always did seem to crave isolation at times.

Wandering around campus, she thought the best place to be to find Blake would be in the library, the main retreat of Blake outside of the dorm room. However, as Yang walked into the library, a tall figure bumped into her as she was entering.

"Hey! Mind where you're going!" Yang shouted, indignant. The figure, not in uniform, must've been a senior student. He was clad entirely in dark robes, a white, empty mask on his face with some intricate, yet unfamiliar, pattern marking out the presumed eye slits. He turned and looked at Yang, his height making him stand two full heads taller than her.

"Foolish child" he muttered, his robes swirling around him as he turned to leave. Yang, however, had different ideas and placed her arm over the doorway to stop him.

"Aren't you going to apologise?" She asked, pointing a finger at the guys mask. He regarded her balefully, the mask or stance of the figure betraying no emotion other than anger. Reaching out to grab her by the arm, he casually turned aside Yang's arm without any apparent difficulties.

"Walk away. I have no quarrel with you" He intoned, looking down upon her. Yang, however, was getting angrier by the moment. She pushed him in the chest, back into the library.

"I'm not going to let you pass until you apologise" She hissed, raising her arms.

"Your pride will not serve you well here. Leave. Now" He intoned again, his voice growing terse.

Yang decided that enough was enough. She punched him square in the chest, knocking him down enough so that she could pass.

"There. Now were even" She smiled sweetly, walking into the library, but before she could manage three paces, she felt someone grasping her neck and hurling her backwards into a wall so hard she slumped to the ground. She lifted her head and felt her fury build, readying herself to stand and strike.

"Not idly to I tolerate such transgressions." He said, revealing a large black staff from inside his robes, raising it above his head, ready to-

"STOP THIS AT ONCE!" Declared a voice, loud and surly.

Yang turned her head to see Professor Port striding confidently towards them both.

"I'll have none of that from you, young man" he said, pointing a finger at the tall, black robed figure. "And a little more patience in the future from you, Miss Xiao Long. Fights are for the battleground or the arena, not the library. I thought you would have learned after that other member of your team broke that wall earlier today!" He admonished them both, before turning to the other interloper.

"And you! Senior students should know better than to start pointless fights!" As Port begun lecturing said student by delivering a long and convoluted story about his own younger days (whether as a means of punishment or a lesson, no one knew) Blake stepped out from behind him.

"Are you ok?" she asked Yang, concerned. Yang nodded, smiling, as she got to her feet. Blake looked at her with her head tilted sideways.

"What was that about?"

Yang looked over at the figure who stood impassively before Port as he delivered his moral/story of the day. Yang gestured to him and told Blake about how he had bumped into her and the situation had escalated from there, with his "insufferable attitude" and "stubborn manner" giving Blake no small amount of internal comebacks at Yang's lack of irony. Yang then looked to Blake.

"And what about you, why did you charge off earlier?" She said, grabbing Blake by the arms so she couldn't run off. Blake looked downcast and tried to avoid eye contact.

"I…got carried away. I didn't want to…I didn't mean to knock him over, just stop him from finishing his sentence. I…I don't know what came over me. I couldn't help it." She said, and Yang sensed there was more to it than that, something deeper, something more secret. However, seeing Blake in clear discomfort she decided not to question it any further, and resolved to find Solaris. Leaving Blake to return to the dining hall to find the rest of her team, Yang went to their dorm room, barrelling inside to look for Solaris. As she entered, she saw Solaris was sitting in his hammock, his legs dangling over the side, in black shorts and a white t-shirt, the first time Yang had seen him in something other than his armour or uniform, not counting that time she saw him half naked in the bath room by accident.

Solaris was cleaning his chest plate, running over the armour with a delicate brush and rag, cleaning and shining and cleaning again. Without looking up from his engrossing work, he asked Yang what she wanted.

"Well, just wanted to find you really" she confessed, sitting down on Blake's bed so she was (somewhat) at eye level with him. Solaris put aside the chest piece carefully, placing it on a collapsible armour rack that Yang had not seen before. Solaris wiped his hands on his shorts and then turned to look at Yang.

"Any particular reason beyond that?" He said, tilting his head slowly. Yang felt as if he was getting at something. _Maybe I should tell him…no…not know…not yet._ However, Solaris seemed to guess her thoughts.

"Is there something you want to tell me?" He asked gently, edging her onwards. Yang felt as if she should tell him, tell him everything, right now…right at this point…how she felt…how she regarded him so affectionately, how she wanted to hold him to her and embrace him whenever and wherever she wanted to.

"I…" She begun, unsure how to go on, and then decided to try a different approach.

"Have you…ever had a girlfriend?" She asked, with no finesse whatsoever. Solaris, however, seemed entirely unmoved by this bold question. He smiled faintly in bemusement.

"A girlfriend? No. Never. Never really knew that many girls before, being in the wilds so long. There was Elena, after all, but she…she was really more of a friend, than anything. She never really swung that way anyhow" Solaris smiled at the memories of her distaste for such ventures, even in conversation.

"It wasn't until I came here that I really met many girls. Even then, I barely know any, outside of this team, of course, and JNPR, but…few else" He finished. Yang decided to do some information hunting.

"So…anyone caught your eye?" She said slyly, raising her eyebrows. Solaris didn't seem to understand the gesture, or the question, but caught its meaning.

"I…I don't really know. I haven't considered it." He said cautiously.

 _He's hiding something. I know it._ Yang thought, daring to hope that she might be able to succeed in this idea of hers.

"Well…what's your type? What kind of girl do you like?" She elaborated, upon seeing his blank expression at this foreign expression. Solaris seemed to think about it for a long time.

"Really, honestly, I have no idea on any of this. I have no knowledge of how to proceed with this" He said in self-defence, keenly aware that this was one of the biggest pitfalls in both his knowledge and experience. Yang decided to nudge him further along.

"Well, when you consider our team and JNPR, who amongst them draws your eye the most. Except Ruby." She said hurriedly, while thinking _"and everyone else but me"_

Solaris pondered the matter, before saying "It doesn't really matter does it?" However, Yang would not take this for an answer. She needed something definite.

"Well c'mon, it not that hard. Just tell me who you think is good looking" She said insidiously, trying to discover the inner workings of his mind. Solaris looked unnerved.

"It isn't that simple. Are we talking about being beautiful, cute, pretty, hot…what? Each one has different meanings, for example, beauty is something that is cold, objective, something that everyone can see, like an art, or a good story, it all holds beauty, but, for example, _hot,_ now that means desire. Lust. Undeniable wanting. It is personal and irrefutable. So, when you say good looking, be more specific, please" He said, content that his answer might deter Yang long enough that someone else could come in and save him from this nightmare.

"Well…what about hot? Who do you think is hot? I mean…I know Pyrrha's got suitors climbing over each other to get to her based purely on her looks, and, well, Blake seems to have taken quite the liking to you. After all, you do read to each other at night sometimes and have long, romantic discussions about…books" She said, aware than even as she said it those "discussions" as she called it, had no romantic value, and were merely an endless debate between Blake and Solaris as to which family house in "Dust and Fire" was going to claim the throne in the end, and who was really evil, and if this person was really who they said they were, and-well…you get the idea.

Solaris shook his head. "Blake doesn't look at me with any desire. Believe me, I would know if she did", to which Yang thought _"Would you?"_

"And anyway, this is a bit too personal for my liking. And besides, I don't really look at girls with any great lust" He said slowly, as if saying the wrong thing might cause something to break. Yang felt her heart drop. Could Solaris be-?

"Oh" She said quietly. "So…guys…then? Not that there is anything wrong with that" She said hastily, dreading the confirmation. Could she be that foolish? To like someone who didn't even look at her like that? However, this seemed to illicit laughter from Solaris, who was chuckling quietly to himself at Yang's tone of voice.

"No, nothing like that. I don't look at guys that way either. I'm…well…it may be hard to explain…but I only desire romantic involvement with girls. Nothing…physical. It really is just not me to do that. The term would be heteroromantic I suppose. I've never really thought about having relations of…the other kind…with a girl, or guy…before. It simply isn't me."

Yang felt so relieved at this moment she thought she might burst with happiness. She was so happy that she could not help but smile.

"That's…that's grea-I mean good. That's good. Fine and good." She said, breath coming out fast. So Solaris might like her after all.

"And…just so you know…Romantic relations of the type I prefer…well, that comes about quite naturally when you spend a few months together, I've found." He begun, seeming to struggle with the words.

Yang dared to hope where this was going, and sat up, looking at him intently. Her heart picked up in pace.

"And…well…over time…you find yourself looking at even your team in a different way. Well…one team member in specific" He whispered, looking Yang in the eye. She stood up. "And…it seems…only…only natural that I should…well…confess. Confess now to spare the pain if I miss the opportunity." He, too, stood up, and gently took Yang's hands in his own. He looked into her eyes. Yang felt elated beyond comprehension. Her heart seemed to be breaking out of her chest. She felt her skin flush. _Could it really be?_

"I love you Yang" he said, and Yang felt like she had ascended to a new plane of reality, a plane of bliss and joy, love and pleasure beyond compare or description. She felt as if she was dreaming, a wild, impossible, brilliant dream.

Yang slid her hands down to his elbows, pulling him by his wrists, pulling him closer. She leaned to him, looking up to meet his eyes. She wasn't aware that Solaris stood taller than her by this much.

"I love you too, Solaris" she said, and pulled him in to a deep, passionate kiss, her hands on his waist, his on hers. She felt overjoyed beyond compare. This was it. Everything in her life was good and perfect at this point in time. Solaris loved her. And she loved him. And they both knew it.

XXX

"… _Solaris and his team have been identified…"_

In a bullhead just landing in the industrial wasteland on the edge of Vale a figure disembarked, holding in his hand a jewel of solid blackness, a jewel from which no light could escape, nor reflect from. In the pitch blackness of the night the jewel seemed to drink in the darkness around it, creating a swirling maelstrom of shadows around the wielders hand. Clad in black robes inlayed with gold, the figure wore a white mask, entirely featureless, its smooth white surface covering his entire face. Yet one could tell where the figure was gazing from the subtle tilt of his neck, the movement of the torso. Right now, the figure was looking at the orb.

"… _and what of them?..."_

"… _it seems they have a reputation for being quite the combo. They have friends as well, another team. They are within the school grounds at all times it seems. It is guarded, and access is prohibited. Thankfully, with a little help from my…unique skillset…I can walk around without question. I am literally a wraith in plain sight"_

Beneath the featureless mask, the lone figure walking through the night smiled. They had no idea they were coming, it seemed.

"… _and what of Solaris? What of him?"_

"… _he seems to have integrated with them well. He is one of them. It is as I said, he has forgotten who he is"_

The first figure might have responded if it weren't for a bunch of opportunistic thugs who decided that someone walking alone, clad in the robes of some monk, would make an easy target for a mugging.

"Alright now, put your hands up, and has all the money you have" spat one of the youthful looking muggers, adorned in the uniform of the White Fang. "You humans don't deserve that money when the likes of us suffer in the darkness"

The figure stood there silently as four more figures moved out behind from crates and barrels, all holding guns or other implements.

"And hand over that jewel o' yours too. Roman will be pleased with this catch" The first mugger said to the assembled gang. Smiling once more under his mask, the figure spoke for the first time to the assembled criminals.

"… _and why should I do that? Why should I? I think you fail to comprehend the nature of this situation. It would suit you well to leave…"_

The White Fang members looked from one to another. His voice was so strange…it seemed not to have a physical sound to it, as if it were being thought in their heads, not spoken aloud. Nonetheless, they decided that they should take their reward by force if this figure didn't comply.

"Hand over all your stuff. Now. That's an order, and your last chance" shouted their leader, brandishing his short katana. The lone figure still remained unmoving.

"… _if you leave now I shall spare you a death of unimaginable torment…"_

Enraged by this person's arrogance and cockishness, they decided to charge forward, weapons raised. The leader reached the target first and brought his sword down savagely, to hit…nothing. The figure had vanished, leaving only a faint blue smoke in the air. He spun around wildly, to see that one of his fellow criminals had a blade protruding from his neck, blood gushing from the wound. The stricken criminal was writhing around, his limbs flailing, the mask fallen from his face, revealing his wild eyes, rolling around in panic. Blood seeped from his nose as the unfortunate cult member fell to the ground. The remaining few looked into the shadows to see…nothing. The blade had come from thin air. Literally. Suddenly, another criminal collapsed to the ground as a blade _materialised_ from thin air, a bluish tinge coating the length of the sword as it appeared out of nowhere, sliced the hapless criminals legs off at the knees and then vanished back into thin air. Before any shots could be fired by the gun toting criminals, the figure emerged in a puff of flash of blue light to pull one of the gun wielding White Fang members into a blue portal which emerged behind him. He didn't even have time to scream as he was pulled to some nameless oblivion. The remaining two White Fang members looked around in panic. This foe…he could leap in and out of reality at will it seemed, without so much as raising a finger, and could phase his weapons in and out of this realm and whatever one he leapt between. The leader of the would-be robbers started swinging wildly in the air around him, in the hopes of hitting something…anything…

As he was doing this, the fourth unlucky criminal didn't even have time to blink as his head suddenly disconnected from his body. The thump made the leader turn around to see the figure standing behind him, his robes pushed aside to reveal deep crimson armour, graceful and elegant, with that accursed black jewel set in the middle of it. Two swords were in the figures hands, one black, one blue. That emotionless mask watched him without pity or contempt. Preferring to try and get a blow in, the leader charged forward, his katana swinging wildly, only to have it suddenly vanish as it neared the figure, disappearing in a flash of blue.

"… _I did warn you…"_

These were the last words he ever heard as the blue bladed sword drove its way into his heart like a knife through hot butter, and, as it did, he felt every single nerve burn with unimaginable pain, as if the every neuron in his body was alight. He felt his blood boil, literally boil, a fine red mist rising from all the pores in his body as his blood evaporated inside him as his nerves and neurons burnt out. His eyes darkened and his head slumped to one side and he lived no more. His flesh decayed and withered with the loss of all moisture and his internal organs melted down into shapeless goo.

The figure watched with disinterest as the White Fang Criminal collapsed to the ground, his flesh shrivelled and dead, his eyes lifeless, yet wide at the moment of his final breath, his body collapsing in on itself as the blades lethal design destroyed everything within his body.

Looking around, he regarded the broken and bloodied remains of four of the five gangsters, the fifth transported to a metre under the ground, into solid rock. _I always have oh so much fun with this phasing of mine,_ thought the figure as he once more removed the jewel from his chest and looked into it, resuming the conversation as if nothing had happened.

"… _as I was saying…"_


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Just a general reference thing, whenever someone from RWBY (or JNPR) fights one my OC Villains (Who, for those of you who didn't put the first letter of their titles together, are called HADES) I shall name that chapter (Person 1) VS (Villain).**

Chapter 6: Hades Wrath

Solaris and Yang walked side by side together, close together, almost rubbing shoulders, with the rest of their team, and fellow classmates, wandering over this latest development. While being largely ignored by most, some had taken a great interest in it, namely Ruby, who was rather unnerved by the concept of Solaris and Yang doing…anything. Yet she was also the one to declare their partnership "Solar Flare" after discovering what Solaris' name actually translated to. So, all in all, a fairly usual response in Solaris' books.

Bringing his mind back to the task at hand, he gazed around Forever Fall Forest, remarking at its quiet beauty, hardly listening to the instructions Goodwitch was delivering. It was only until Yang elbowed him playfully in the ribs did he snap back to attention.

"So all were doing is getting sap?" she asked him. Solaris, not actually knowing if this was the task or not, merely nodded slowly in a non-comital fashion. He took a proffered jar from Yang.

"Goodwitch said to stay close to our partners, Yang" Blake said from behind her, tapping her shoulder for attention.

"I'm sure Solaris can come with us though" she added quickly, upon seeing Yang and Solaris' crestfallen expression at the thought of being separated, even briefly. However, something else intervened. Well, someone else, that is.

"I'm afraid, young ladies, that Mr. Potentia will be accompanying me for the duration of this lesson. You two can go along now. I have matters to discuss with this fine young man here" Announced the stoic Ms. Goodwitch, looking at the three teenagers in question, sternly gazing at Yang and Blake before the walked off slowly. Turning her gaze back to the resolute Solaris, she softened her expression and then motioned for him to follow.

They wandered around, rather aimlessly, it seemed to Solaris, with no idle chatter to lighten the apparently dark mood that had settled, nor the stillness of the air around them. When they had finally reached a secluded area far outside the lessons area, Goodwitch finally spoke.

"It has come to my attention that you have had some people in your past who may be back to haunt you" She said simply, in a way that did not suggest in any interpretation of her words that this was a question nor speculation, but a statement of fact. Solaris sighed softly. He knew it too. _It only really matters who it is that comes to find me._

"Yes" he offered in manner of response. "Indeed I do. My past with them is dead and buried, yet I do not think that they feel the same way with me"

If surprised, she did not show it. "So you admit to know these people?" She asked. Solaris nodded. He could not deny it. Best not hold it back or else someone who exploit it later. He would tell her all she needed to know.

"I do. Yet, I wander, how do _you?_ They do not operate inside the kingdoms, they barely even have _operations_ to begin with. In fact, the only time anyone comes across them they have no idea who, or what, they are. But apparently you do. So, tell me, how? Because it does not bode well if you know" He replied, rounding on her. He did not care that he was technically only a student here in good faith, this was much more important. If they were coming to Vale to find him, then he would go to drastic measures to stop them.

Goodwitch didn't reply, merely handed him her scroll. On it was security footage of an industrial zone, showing a dark robed figure dispatch a group of White Fang mercenaries with a few swift strokes of a blade and some esoteric semblance. He wore the same armour design as Solaris was know, albeit a different colour.

"This man was seen only a few days ago on the edge of Vale. Based on his…uniqueness, as well as the armour, Ozpin and I decided he must be related to you. And I feel that you haven't been honest with us. All of us." She said, gesturing with her arms. Solaris knew it was true. He had told them so much, yet there some things which were better left unsaid. Until now. Now it mattered.

"If you want the truth, right here, right now, then I can only tell you what matters. The facts about these people, and the part of my past I feel the least proud of. These people, they are an ancient cult of people gathered from all over the world. Each one is selected at a young age to feel a very specific role in that group, with a series of rites and rituals being required to earn the title needed to be part of this group. The final thing you need to do is to kill the previous owner of that title and take their traditional arms and armour." Solaris gestured to his armour, the silver plate mail gleaming in the sunlight. As he was doing this, he also unsheathed his knife, the long, broad bladed weapons blade measuring from his elbow to fingertips. Serrated barbs run along the edge of it, and a thin, shiny, liquid seeped from the pores in these barbs.

"This is my traditional weapon, called Bord de la Souffrance, the Edge of Suffering" Goodwitch, upon examining the blade, could see why. She had no doubt that the blades serrated teeth cut and flayed flesh as the liquid seeping from the pores entered the bloodstream, no doubt some poison designed to accelerate heartbeat and increase bleeding. It was a cruel, barbaric weapon, and she could only imagine of the mind that had conceived it.

"The cult maintains belief in one thing. That there comes a time when every civilization crumbles and weakens, when injustice and corruption destroys society from within, when the populace becomes blinded to their slavery and the whims of the few steer the fate of all civilization. They maintain that the morality and justice of these 'falling worlds' as they call them, must be undone and destroyed, a relic of the elder days, soon to be forgotten. It is their belief that when civilization goes beyond a point where it can't be saved, when the world begins to fall apart and the order of the time collapses, when the apocalypse comes, that they should be there to ensure only the best of it survives, by making sure that they endure every possible torment, to rise from the ashes having passed the five tests of the apocalypse. When they subject the world to these tests, few survive. But when it passes, they see themselves as the architects of the new era of civilization, the creators of a race of beings closer to perfection than before." Goodwitch listened in silence.

"They believe that the apocalypse of this civilization dawns. They think that this world can no longer be saved, and are preparing the five tests" Solaris looked over at Goodwitch, who nodded, as if this was something perfectly ordinary that she heard every day, which, for all Solaris knew, it could be.

"And what are these five tests?" She asked of him. Solaris sighed. He had hoped to never say these names aloud again.

"Hatred, the test to see how much hate can be borne, how much anger rules and empowers the survivors. Agony, to see how much pain we can go through without breaking, how much it will take to make us give in. Death, to see how many need die before we learn, how many lives we would sacrifice to ensure the survival of the best of us that are left. Entropy, to ensure that the failures of the last civilization are destroyed and forgotten to the rest, but remembered by us, and to see how we can face the end of all that we knew"

Goodwitch was about to interject at this point when another voice spoke first, a voice hollow and dry, as if the speaker was not used to saying words aloud.

"And Suffering, to watch and ensure that everyone knows the pain of loss, the sights of their family, slain, the sight of their lover, slain, the sight of their cities, burning, the sights of their world, collapsing, and the realisation of how alone they truly are. Come on, old friend, do not remove yourself from this sad little tale of ours"

Turning around at once, Goodwitch and Solaris saw the speaker. Clad in dark orange armour, the same as Solaris in all regards except colour, with a deep orange jewel in the middle of the chestplate. He wore no mask or robes, revealing a young man with raven black hair in an unruly mane that terminated at his shoulders, and hazel eyes. A scar ran along his right cheek from beneath his ear to above his mouth, and another scar above his left eye. He smiled warmly at Solaris as he slowly approached.

"Solaris, my old friend" He said, stretching out his arm in greeting.

"Aaron. Or, as I suppose you would have yourself called, _Entropy."_

The newcomer seemed to consider this thoughtfully a moment.

"Yes, I suppose that is true. But I come not to dither over names. I come to tell you that the rest of them are coming. Hate is already here! He has infiltrated Beacon! Death has found a lair to act from and is preparing to meet you in person. All that remains is Agony, namely because she seems to be occupied elsewhere"

However, before Solaris could reply to Aaron, Goodwitch spoke, enraged at this transgression.

"What do you mean, infiltrated Beacon? Who have you got inside our school? Tell me! TELL ME!" She shouted, but Aaron only shook his head.

"You couldn't find him. Even if you burnt down the whole school to do it, he would always allude you. But fret not, we have no quarrel with you. At least, I don't. I came for Solaris" Aaron returned, fixing each person with his steady gaze.

"Solaris. Things are not going well. Death is growing increasingly fanatical, something that even for him is unusual. Hate follows blindly whilst Agony slips closer and closer to insanity. I departed soon after you did to find you and bring you back, but always you escaped my reach before I could get to you. Now though, I am here, and you have to listen, old friend. Remember, back in the day, when it was us? As it always should be? You and I, we were the voices of reason in that group, to hold back the mad ravings of Death. You know that our aim is fruitless, as do I. This world can still be saved from the darkness that festers in its heart. But the others don't see it. They know we are forbidden to interfere with the events of the world until it nears it end, but Death thinks were already there! He is preparing the tests! You know what horror he will unleash! Evil unimagined will be freed from its prison of eons to once more walk upon the land, to bring humanity to its bitter end and the rise of its tyrannical evil. It is not for the world to suffer that. Never has a civilization fell into such decay and destruction that the end of all things need be unleashed to cleanse the damage! Yet Death believes that this is that time!"

Solaris stood, shocked, whilst Goodwitch observed from a distance. They were discussing something that apparently only their group was privy to, some evil that could apparently end all life as they knew it, and undo everything that humanity had ever done. It was suffice to say, this was _not_ the usual things she dealt with. World devouring evils were the things of children's tales and nightmares. They had no place in the real world.

"And what have you done to stop him?" Solaris asked after hearing all of this, through a clenched jaw. Aaron looked crestfallen.

"Nothing. I cannot do anything. Death always has Hate or Agony by his side, and the third out on some mission or whatnot. And with you gone…well…you know that the only way to ensure that is never comes to pass is to prevent all five stones being wielded by one person"

Solaris nodded, and looked down automatically to the silver jewel in his armour, and Aaron to the orange jewel he possessed. They were far more then decoration or telepathic conduits.

"Yet Death has not taken the others by force?" Solaris asked carefully of Aaron, who shook his head.

"There is still hope. Delusion does not blind him. Yet."

Solaris was about to approach Aaron to ask further of him when a loud yell was heard from the forest, followed by the roar of a Grimm. Aaron smiled at the sound.

"Oh, how I miss the days when all it was in life was killing Grimm. Those truly were the days"

His calm and unconcerned reaction was not shared by Solaris and Goodwitch, who looked around for the source. It sounded like someone was being attacked. _I hope Yang is safe. Please yet Yang be safe._

Goodwitch turned to Solaris and Aaron, and then back around to the source of the noise. She was torn between getting more information or ensuring the safety of her students. However, it seemed she do not have to choose, for Aaron, in a swift flourish of the arm, manifested a pale, leaf green cloak that hung from his back to his feet, and, with a flourish, begun to extend both arms out. Solaris, having seen this many times before, dived forward in panic.

"Aaron, DON'T!" He yelled vainly, for Aaron brought his arms into an X-shape and then split them apart, his cloak swirling around him to consume him like a serpent consumes its prey, before he exploded into a shower of dead leaves. Solaris fell flat on his face into the pile of dead and dying leaves that lay in a heap on the forest floor where Aaron had once stood.

"Blasted teleporting pri-" he begun, then remembered Goodwitch was behind him. He opened his mouth to apologise when she said, straight faced-"I share the sentiment", and then promptly ran off to uncover what was unfolding. Solaris hauled himself upwards of the ground, to hear in his head:

"… _remember, Solaris, Hate is in the school. Pay attention. He likes to hide in plain sight. I can't help you any more right now, Death is recalling me. I think he senses that we had this little discussion of ours. Remember…plain sight…"_

The words engraved into his mind, Solaris broke into a sprint after Goodwitch, his thoughts split between concern for his immediate surroundings and the ill-spoken words Aaron had told him. They had closed in on him faster than he would have liked, yet he would not surrender idly to them, not until they saw what he saw, that the world still had things worth saving, worth fighting for.

Things like Yang.

XXX

It was later that night that Solaris finally cleared the events of earlier today out of his mind, to focus on more…prominent things.

Team RWBYS was in their dorm room, each person on their bed (or hammock, in Solaris case), talking about idle matters, gossip, jokes or studies. Solaris paid these no heed whilst he cleaned his armour. Even after the incident with the Ursa, someone (Nora) still managed to get sap on people. Said people being Solaris and Solaris alone. In her defence though, he wasn't to know that she was aiming for the perceived Beowulf (Read, beehive) that was apparently hiding in the tree _directly_ above him, nor was he to know that Nora had something against beehives that can be easily mistaken for Beowolves (Which are none of them).

Anyway, the point was that he got sap on his armour, the second time in this month he got a stain on his armour. Vigorously cleaning the plate, with Ruby and Weiss chatting in contentment, Yang in the shower, and Blake reading, it was all so calm…until Blake through her book across the room, shouting "Fucking BULLSHIT!" in the most un-Blake like manner. Solaris jumped so badly he tipped out of the hammock, Ruby squeaked like a frightened mouse and flew into Weiss's arms, and Weiss bit back her own unladylike response. Meanwhile, in the shower, Yang shouted, through the wall, something that probably was "What was that?" but sounded like "Whafmurgaphalthaf?" through the thick wall. Also, everyone in the Team JNPR dorm room (Which was only actually Nora and Ren, due to Pyrrha and Jaune being on the roof, training) jumped to their feet at this surprised shout from the opposing dorm room. Ren thought someone must've been hit in the face accidentally whilst Nora felt as if they were scheming some evil scheme that involved lots of swearing. However, the truth was something else, something more mundane…and odd.

"What on earth was that for?" Weiss half shouted, half demanded, whilst unknowingly patting the startled Ruby on the back (To Ruby's secret delight).

Blake had her arms crossed and her face set in a frown, looking most directly at Solaris, who felt he knew where this was going. He glanced over at the book she was reading…'Dust and Fire: Book One, A Dance of Thrones'.

 _Ah._

 _She must've just read the end._

Straightening himself up to face her, he picked the book up and sure enough she was on the very page where Eddord Stake gets beheahed for being falsely accused of treason against the crown after trying (unsuccessfully) to expose the illegitimacy of the would be king. It was…shocking…to say the least, when he first read it, mainly for the suddenness of the killing, but Blake didn't seem to like it at all.

"So…uh…you reached the part where his 'punishment' is dealt, so to speak, for his false crimes?" Solaris asked the grumpy Blake, who merely huffed something in response.

"What was that?" Weiss asked, who didn't quite hear.

"It was such fucking bullshit" Blake said louder, causing Weiss to cover Ruby's ears with her hands. Solaris smiled at her, whilst gleefully laughing inside his head at the prospects of her reading book three…

 **A/N: Sorry for anyone who has not read Game of Thrones: Book 1 nor watched the show.**

 **Also sorry for this relatively short length chapter, but I ran out of time when writing it. However, it is going to be somewhere soon. In the next two chapters, the assembled villains shall meet the assembled RWBYS, albeit in what capacity though?**

 **You shall see.**

 **You shall see.**

 **As always, reviews would be lovely, but do feel free to leave a favourite!**


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7: Ms. Dutch

"Would you mind telling me why we're spending our Friday afternoon at the stupid docks?" Asked an irritated Yang to know one in particular.

Solaris smiled and patted her on the shoulder.

"Because apparently we don't anything better to do" He half-joked. _He_ didn't have anything better to do. Well, other than be with Yang, but she was here as well.

"Ugh, they smell like fish!" Ruby complained, in between pinched nostrils, making her voice sound unusually high pitched. Solaris smelt it too, the strong smell permeating the air, causing him to tighten his mouth in way of reaction. He grabbed onto the railings and looked down into the water, regarding its pale blue beauty as Yang leant next to him.

"Whatcha thinking about Sol?" She asked, smiling that bright, brilliant smile of hers that Solaris enjoyed so much, while in the background Weiss made some preamble about welcoming people from Vacuo. _As long as it's certain people from my past I am fine._

"Nothing, really, just…well…I've never really spent much time around this much water before, aside from the trip from Vacuo to here, of course" He said, prompting Yang to frown, some question building on her lips.

"Can you swim?" She asked suddenly, a half smile on her face.

"Er…swim? No. Not at all. Never learnt that skill" He said, causing Yang to smile wider.

"I'll have to take you to a swimming pool then, Sol. Teach you how to swim. Also, to get you into bathing shorts" She said, only half-jokingly. Solaris sighed internally. Yang could not be deterred once an idea formed in her head. Yet before they could continue their conversation, Ruby interrupted them.

"Woah…" She whispered in hushed tones, gesturing conspiratorially down the street to a Dust store with smashed windows and police tape, complete with actual police, outside. The group gravitated over as many people tend to when they see something big, smashed, and covered in "Do not pass this point" warning tape and signs.

"What happened here?" Ruby asked of the policeman writing on his notepad.

"Robbery. Second Dust store to be hit this week" He replied gruffly before walking off. _Odd,_ thought Solaris, as the policeman muttered something about this place turning into a jungle.

"Ugh, that's terrible" Yang said, looking at the broken windows and ransacked store inside. Solaris grunted in response, narrowing his eyes as he looked for any telltale signs of what could've done this…gun shots, blood stains, even claw marks…anything to give some sort of inkling of what happened.

"They left all the money again!" Complained a second policeman, whilst the first one nodded in agreement about how this didn't make any sense, and theorised who could be behind it, with the White Fang coming to mention.

"Hmph. The White Fang. What an awful bunch of degenerates!" Weiss said, in an (un)usually stuck up manner, which caused Blake to frown sternly at her.

"What's your problem?" She asked her, leading to Weiss saying how she doesn't care for the criminally insane. Solaris, meanwhile, not being up-to-date on current politics, was slightly lost.

"Uh…the White Fang…who are these people?" He asked the no one in particular.

"Their a bunch of misguided Fanuas" Blake said, to which Weiss shook her head in anger.

"Misguided? They want to see humanity wiped off the face of the planet!" She said in indignant rage. _Ah._

"Oh, so they are one of _those_ sorts of groups" Solaris said, emphasising the those. Blake seemed displeased with this.

"And what do you mean by that?" She asked, rounding on him. Solaris felt he was missing something important here.

"Ah…I meant that they are the type of group that doesn't really…you know…think things through properly. Fails to see the big picture?" He said unhelpfully. Blake seemed to get angrier, but then Weiss distracted her with yet more statements about the degenerates of the White Fang. They started getting quite heated until Ruby interjected with the statement that it could've been Roman, the person with whom she had fought at another store several months ago. Solaris nodded. It seems that there was some sort of conspiracy here.

"It still doesn't change the facts that the White Fang are a bunch of degenerates. All those Faunas know is to lie, cheat and steal" Weiss declared, to Blake's outrage.

"That's not necessarily true" Yang added, trying to skew the conversation away from a political debate, which Solaris felt that he would have little to say in, when, as if by some cosmic joke, someone shouted "Hey! Stop that Faunas!"

The group charged back to the pier to see a blonde haired monkey Faunas barrelling down the side of the ship, jump over the edge and display numerous advanced acrobatic feats whilst casually exchanging banter with the annoyed crew on the boat and the police beneath him. After flinging a banana at one of the officers, he leapt into the air, ran up the stairs off the pier, and down the road towards the stunned group.

Solaris watched as he passed Blake, and saw the slow wink that he gave her before continuing on as if running from the police was a perfectly normal exercise, as was winking at random pedestrians on the side walk. Solaris watched as he sped off down the street, pursued by the police. He turned back to the others.

"Uh?" He managed, as Weiss shouted "Quick! We have to observe him!"

This prompted most of the group into action, save for Blake, who stood stock still, trying to process what happened, before she recovered and then went after them. Solaris waited for to run past him before he, too started to follow…until he heard the voice in his head.

"… _Solaris…turn around, dear…"_ Came the soft, feminine voice, unlike the hard toned ethereal voice he had heard some months earlier, unlike that of Aaron. He knew who this voice belonged to. The one whom he really did not want to see right now, not today. The one, by some infernal chance, was right behind him. Solaris slowly turned, and looked down the road.

There, walking towards him, was her.

Ms. Dutch.

Her long, vibrant orange hair flowed gracefully from her head, trailing down to her back, her deep green armour half hidden under her orange cloak. She had her jewel placed within the chest plate, its soft green glow giving her what might be considered an angelic visage, matching her mint green eyes. Standing a little over 5 feet, she wasn't exactly winning awards in the height department, so when she finally reached Solaris she stood at least two heads smaller then him.

"Ms. Dutch" He said formally, to which she tilted her head and smiled.

"Mr. Potentia" She replied similarly, a faint smile on her ruby lips.

"Apparently Aaron has something against me calling him Aaron. He prefers Entropy. Hate always liked Hate and Death…well, you and I both know Death better than the other two, but neither of us know his name. So…I imagine this thing about titles was something he put into place after I left…something he could tighten his stranglehold on the group with?" Solaris questioned, as he begun to walk off in the direction of his team, prompting Ms. Dutch to do the same.

"Well, come on, you can't begrudge him that. He was always very particular, but in public I still like to be called Ms. Dutch. Mr. Autumns does not like to go by 'Mr. Autumns' anymore, well, at least not in public. And you?" She asked him, a question Solaris had a very definite answer to.

"I'm not Suffering. Not anymore. I am, and always will be, Solaris" He said to her, which seemed to put her in a downcast mood. She looked down at the ground as they walked together in silence.

"So…you're fine right now?" Solaris said after several minutes of strained silence. Ms. Dutch smiled. "For now? Yes, yes. No need to kill, no need for Ms. Crazy Dutch to take over and do her thing"

Ms. Dutch was, in actual fact, a literal psychopath. Despite being a mere seventeen years old, she was rightly feared by the underworld of sadistic killers, mercenaries, and assassins, all of whom would prefer not to encounter her, no matter what the circumstances were.

"And when was the last time that happened?"

Ms. Dutch slowed, before smiling slightly.

"It was two weeks ago. Some issue in our citadel. Both the perpetrators found that breathing became quite difficult when your jugular is removed with a knife and your throat is filled with blood."

Solaris shuddered to think what else she had done before that.

"You seem…awfully talkative about that stuff, Ms. Dutch. Is it that your losing grip on reality?" Solaris wondered aloud, to which she frowned.

"Losing my grip? Nonsense! I've always been a passive psychopath outside of combat and an active one within! I thought that was my trademark!" She sputtered at him, and Solaris nodded sagely. She was indeed always like this.

"I mean, you usually try to at least blend in with your surroundings. Not mention the bit about being a psychopath aloud, nor the sadistic serial killings you enjoy so much" Ms. Dutch appeared to slow at this thought.

"Well, that is a granted. But, Mr. Potentia, there isn't anyone here who can stop me even if I were to be forced into action, is there?" She toyed. Solaris straightened up.

"I can" He said simply. Causing her to laugh aloud.

"You? When did you beat me?" She said in between gales of laughter and tears. Solaris waited patiently. He watched her until she subsided, and then fixed her with a glare from his blue eyes, her own mint green eyes glaring back.

"I've won 23 times against you in training matches. You've won 17. Those are odds I can be content with. Can you?" Solaris knew that, when it came down to fighting, Ms. Dutch/Agony was a perfectionist. A hardcore, small, deadly perfectionist. Losing to him even once was an outrage. Being reminded of those 23 losses was something she could not abide.

"Watch it there _Mr. Potentia"_ Her voice grew terse and the jewel in her armour radiated a strong, green, light. She stepped closer to him, her hands on her sheathes. "You're not infallible. You or your little girlfriend" She added. Solaris regarded her balefully, and was about to respond when someone came racing around the corner.

"Solaris, there you are! We were wandering where you we-"came the voice of Yang as she barrelled around the corner with Ruby in tow. Yang stopped when she saw Solaris talking to a small, petite girl of their age, with orange hair to rival the length of her blonde mane and mint green eyes the same hue as her lilac.

"Ha. Who's this Solaris?" She said slowly, making sure to use his full name to make sure he understood he was on thin ice here. Solaris looked from Yang to Ms. Dutch, and back again.

"Yang, this is…Ms. Dutch, who happens to be an old…associate of mine. We've met before as kids, and several months ago, after I left the wilds but before I came here. She is…well…she is my cousin. Regrettably." Solaris said, hastily fabricating a complete lie out of thin air. "Ms. Dutch, Yang, who is my team member and, yes, girlfriend."

Understanding dawned in Yang's eyes as she turned to Ms. Dutch, shaking her hand vigorously. Yang smiled brightly as she did so, completely unaware of Ms. Dutch and her…disturbing tendencies. Ms. Dutch, however, was having a jovial time talking to Yang and Ruby.

"So, his cousin, huh?" Yang asked, smiling. "What's your name?" She said.

Ms. Dutch smiled brightly back. "Ashley Dutch, but most people who know me simply call me Ash, and everyone else calls me Ms. Dutch. Solaris here is one of the few people who calls me both." She added.

"So…what are you doing here in Vale?" Yang asked of her, and Solaris looked at her, eyebrow raised, thinking. _That is very much what I want to know._

"I'm here for the Vytal festival. Well, specifically the tournament." At mention of the tournament Ruby interjected.

"You're here to fight? What's your weapon? Semblance? Style? Trainer? School? What are your signature moves? What's your team? Who are they? Whataretheirweapons? Whataretheirsemblances?" She launched a barrage of high grade, Ruby classed, question broadside missiles at increasingly high speed at Ms. Dutch, who stood there, turning her head to one side and smirking faintly.

Ms. Dutch shook her head at the assembled group, before looking directly at Solaris.

"Well, _he_ can tell you. I really shouldn't, you know…advantage to the enemy and all that. But…" She stepped closer to Solaris and slipped a note into his hands, looking up at him "I think my good _cousin_ would remember this little joke from our childhood, eh? Maybe you can enlighten one of them to is…significance" She said jokingly, leaving Solaris with the resolute opinion of not introducing anyone to anything Ms. Dutch had thought up, interacted with, mentioned or even looked at.

"Possibly. I think you'd best be on your way, Ms. Dutch. But…before you do, was it you or Aaron who lost a bet?"

Ms. Dutch seemed shaken, just for the slightest of moments, at this remark.

"It was…it was him. But who could you know? How could you possibly know that?"

"The matching capes. Wearing the others colour as a sign of defeat, or a losing gesture, to see your colours in the hands of the winner. Seems like the sadistic thing you'd do. Plus, you always did like the colour orange"

Ms. Dutch regained her composure, and smiled icily.

"Indeed? Well, the others are too blind to see it. I had forgotten you were better. That always freaked me out, that trick of yours" She gave him a mocking half-bow, the same that people see Solaris do before a fight, except this one was with a bigger flourish in the hands and more…feminine. She looked up and winked at Ruby with a smirk before pirouetting on the spot and strutting off down the street. Ruby seemed oblivious to the connotations but Yang sure as hell wasn't.

"Solaris. Did she just…you know…" She leant in and whispered into Solaris ear "Flirt with Ruby?" She finished. Solaris whispered back a hushed "Ayep"

Yang straightened up and looked at the small, lithe figure strutting away, her orange hair blowing in the wind with her similarly coloured cape.

Ruby then said something that may or may not be taken out of context.

"I like her. She seems cool" She whispered as Ms. Dutch vanished around a corner. Solaris felt ice form in his stomach at the prospect of Ruby getting to know Ms. Dutch. He then felt even greater dread when he thought of something much worse… _Nora_ meeting Ms. Dutch.

Yang, however, was not aware of her background and said something that Solaris did not wish her to say.

"Well, perhaps Solaris can arrange you and her meeting sometime, hey?" She said, giving Solaris a wink of her own. Ruby, once again, failed to grasp the social connotation of the wink. She might've asked after it if Blake and Weiss came around the corner, still locked in the same argument they had been for almost an hour.

"Uh…is that still going on?" Solaris asked, and Ruby and Yang nodded despondently. _Great. A team dispute. Because these are always beneficial for the team as a whole._

That night, in the RWBYS dorm, the argument still continued, Ruby and Yang still waiting for a lee way into the argument to break it apart, whilst Blake and Weiss were getting more and more political and thus more and more out of Solaris understanding. Or care.

His attention was instead focused on the letter that Ms. Dutch had given him, which read as follows.

 _We wish to see you returned_

 _I want to think words might sway you_

 _But I know they never will_

 _Autumns may believe what he will_

 _But you won't be talked into this_

 _So let us show you_

 _It will make everything clear_

 _Come to this address, tomorrow_

 _Needless to say, alone._

All in all, Solaris knew it was a trap. The address was for an abandoned warehouse, and he was supposed to go there alone for something that was definitely not going to be a group talk. Yes, indeed. They may as well have said "Oh hey, Solaris, come to this trap here! It will be ever so much fun!"

Yet Solaris knew he had to go. He wanted to know, damn it, he wanted to know what they were so fanatically devout about all of a sudden that they needed him back _now._ He knew of members of the order that had gone on solitary missions for years, decades even, yet after a few months they come rushing after him. Granted, he did desert them without any real explanation, but that, too, was not unheard of for their group. It had also happened before. But it was not like they changed anything. So why did they want _him_ specifically back? All they had to do was wait for him to die naturally so they could retrieve his silver jewel, the only thing that really mattered to them. Unless…unless they _couldn't wait._

Solaris was pulled from his thoughts abruptly as he heard Weiss petulantly shout "I'm a victim!".

Sighing, he climbed out of his hammock and shouted at them both.

"QUIET! THIS DOES US NO GOOD! ARGUING NEVER DOES A TEAM GOOD. ALL IT SERVES IS TO DESTROY AND UNDO ALL THE GOOD WORK OF TEAM BONDING! WOULD YOU HAVE THAT? WOULD YOU!" He roared in anger, his patience for such antics broken, pointing to both Blake and Weiss in turn. They seemed stunned, but Weiss recovered faster, and shot back a statement on how the White Fang had hunted her family for years, leading to her harsh upbringing and violent outburst. Solaris was about to focus on her for not seeing the bigger issue when Blake suddenly blurted out "Well maybe we were just tired of being pushed around!"

Silence.

 _Fucking shitballs on a stick,_ Solaris thought. _She was a Faunas of the White Fang. Shit Mc. Nuggets._

Silence still filled the air as these thoughts raced through Solaris mind, and everyone else's (Although probably far cleaner and less inclined to breaking the fourth wall with references)

Blake suddenly ran from the room and out into the hallway, gone before anyone could stop or pursue her. Ruby was about to go after her when Yang put her hand on her shoulder to stop her. Solaris sighed. Something had once again gone wrong with a group of people he was with. The story of his life.

"Sorry, Weiss" He apologised, and she nodded wordlessly. Solaris went back to his hammock and pulled a book from his shelf, and opened to the first page. No sense in following her. She would come back. Hopefully. If not, it wouldn't be the first person he had seen leave his life. And it probably won't be his last.

 **A/N: Just so you know, Ms. Dutch/Agony is about the same, or similar, height to Nora, and is in no way at all some weird fusion of her and Neo.**

 **Also, remember to review if you liked a particular aspect. Aside from Solaris and the four Villains, his relationship with Yang, and the ultimate outcome of the story, I would be willing to write in some background things, like maybe some gaming sessions with the team, more JNPR, maybe they watch Dust and Fire together (Without Ruby, for reasons of age and uh…sexual content), or maybe some people want some background White Rose. If any of these things sound good, please say so, and I shall try to put them in.**


	8. Chapter 8: Solaris and Weiss VS Hatred

Chapter 8: Solaris and Weiss VS Hatred

It was the day after, and Blake had not returned.

Ruby decided to spend the day looking for her, trying to get her to come back, but there was no such luck in actually locating her. Ruby and Yang seemed in no way concerned by Blake's possibly involvement in a terrorist group, something Solaris doubted they would do with him upon learning he was part of an ancient apocalyptic cult of madmen.

Eventually, after hours of fruitless searching, the team branched out into individuals, and Solaris decided now would be a great time to find this warehouse and see what was there for him to see. He had the utmost faith in his fellow teammates to find Blake, and knew they would be better in convincing her to comeback then he would be. As he was wandering the streets of lower Vale, he found the lane where this mystery warehouse should be located, and proceeded to walk down in the direction he supposed it would be. He had Desert Wind with him, armed and loaded, with spare explosive dust rounds on his belt bandolier. His knife was sheathed on his right side and his brown trench coat was wrapped around him, trailing behind in the wet puddles every now and then as its edges fell slightly lose and scraped the road. He pulled out his golden watch and checked the time, relieved to see that he had plenty of time to spare before returning to Beacon.

Running a hand through his blonde hair and absent-mindedly combing a few stray strands out of his eyes and behind his ear, he pulled out the paper note Ms. Dutch had given him, and began comparing the address to the ones he was walking by. He had almost reached the end of the lane, with greet steel warehouses pressed in on either side of him, two storeys high each, a brick wall with barbed wire in front, trashcans and litter all around, broken, soggy pallets piled up in the corners of the lane and wall. Each warehouse was of the same, universal, depressing grey steel frame, corrugated plating, rusty, creaky dust filled window variety that you see in every derelict business area in every part of every city in every world.

Solaris compared the address listed to the one of the particularly depressing, rusted, dust filled, rain sodden warehouses in front of him. It matched.

"Perfect" He muttered, and entered, completely unaware someone was following him.

Solaris opened one of the fire escape doors, and walked inside, to be greeted with the musty, dead air of a building left unoccupied for years. He walked up the staircase that greeted him, its peeling paintwork rubbing off on his hands as he gripped the supports on the way up. He reached the first floor and looked down upon the grey concrete ground floor of the warehouse.

Nothing was there, aside from a few dried green crates and some shipping containers, long devoid of use. Whatever business, and people, that had been here had left long ago. Yet the address definitely said here. Hurling himself over the railing and onto the cold floor of the warehouse.

"… _so he comes at last, does he? Welcome to this…unfitting abode…Solaris…"_

Hatred.

Solaris knew that deep, gravelly voice, even in its ethereal telepathic form.

"Show yourself!" He shouted to the empty room, the silence mocking him with echoes and the creak of the walls in the wind.

"As you wish, old _friend"_ Came the reply, menace coating every syllable.

Solaris heard someone land behind him with a thud, and there, at the opposite end of the warehouse, some eighty meters away, stood Hatred.

Clad in his black robed armour, his white mask was hiding his face, the symbols of a raging serpent marking out the eye slits as he held his massive two handed blackwood staff in one hand. His jewel shined with the light of a thousand fires, and the warehouse glowed in its presence as ethereal lightning shot at from it, arcing over Hatreds form and causing the air to waver in his presence as a faint steam rose from the ground beneath him.

"So this was nothing but a simple trap to get me killed, correct?" Solaris asked, knowing Hatred would want all questions out of the way before a fight. All the important ones, that is.

"Indeed. Or, if you survive, a warning" He said haughtily in reply.

Solaris nodded sagely. Hatred would only be trying to severely wound him, then. They needed him alive, it seemed. Mostly.

"And I assume this is no personal vendetta but because this jewel of mine is needed by Death?" He challenged, to which Hatred nodded in reply.

"Alright. All I needed to know…" He finished, and unslung Desert Wind. His hand was over the trigger, about to fire, when the most unexpected interruption came.

"Solaris!" Shouted the voice of Weiss, breaking the tense atmosphere. Solaris, startled, looked up to the fire escape, as did Hatred, to see Weiss standing there, Mrytenaster in hand, pointing at Hatred.

"He means to kill you!" She shouted defiantly. Solaris sighed.

"I kind of figured that, Weiss, thank you" He said sarcastically. Weiss leapt down and joined him in facing Hatred on the ground floor.

"I can't have you doing this alone" She said. Solaris motioned for Hate to stay still whilst he talked to Weiss.

Hate seemed to frown underneath his mask and then stood stoically still. Honour got in the way a bit here, he grumbled to himself as he watched his would be prey deal with this interloper.

"Weiss, this fight is mine, and mine alone. It is not for you. You don't need to risk yourself against him. Trust me. He is far too dangerous for someone who has no idea what they are up against to be beaten. Besides, aren't you meant to be looking for Blake?" He added, as an afterthought, remembering what the rest of the team was doing.

Weiss shook her head. "I came here following you, you dolt! Your always so secretive, I thought I had to uncover what it was you did in your spare time. It's bad enough to have Blake, but this? What do you do? I can't help Blake until I find her, but I can help you. So there will be no argument here, alright?" She looked up at him in the eye defiantly. Solaris knew she would not back down.

"Just…just don't do anything stupid" He said, and faced Hate once more, and aimed Desert Wind.

"Ready?" He called out, and Hatred nodded, levelled his staff, and the fight begun.

( **A/N: The Witcher 3 Track: Hail to Caranthir is perfect for this moment)**

Hatred drove forward, his staff slicing through the air in a series of rapid spins to fast to make out any individual swing, the air filling with his swipes. Solaris opened fire with Desert Wind, each round exploding in the air around Hate as his staff detonated them all early, before any made it past his guard. He then brought his staff onto the ground in one massive overhead blow, one that shattered the concrete at the point of impact and sent a focussed blast of concussive energy the width of the staff racing along the ground towards Solaris and Weiss, who deftly side stepped the strike.

Solaris reloaded and fired more shots at Hate, who swivelled on the spot and used his staff to ricochet bullets into the wall, ceiling, and floor. Weiss, meanwhile, moved to his exposed left side, and tried to dive in with a quick strike with the tip of her rapier, but she underestimated the speed of Hate, who, for all his massive bulk, was no ponderous combatant, and easily parried the blade and turned it aside, before swinging the staff around to Weiss, hitting her in the ribs and throwing her aside. Solaris exploited the gap in his guard and fired off the remainder of the clip into his open right flank, the rounds exploding on impact, each one staggering him back just a bit, yet not enough to disable him. He regained his footing and then brought down another overhead crushing blow, to unleash another focused shockwave blast at Solaris, while Weiss came from behind.

Yet Hate displayed preternatural senses, and stepped aside at the last moment, making Weiss go too far forward, standing ahead of him now. Hate smiled beneath his mask and then delivered a flat horizontal blow, which Weiss rolled under and Solaris jumped past, but he was not finished, for he turned the horizontal swipe into yet another downwards blow, one that hit the ground and sent out shockwaves to the sides, rather than directly ahead of him, which threw both Weiss and Solaris off balance. This did not deter Solaris, who raised an open palm, out extended, and threw Hate against one of the shipping containers with his semblance. Weiss dived in, creating a glyph before diving forward again, to exploit this advantage. This time, she was successful, and the rapier hit its mark. She then followed through with a series of successive blows across his chests, arms and legs. Hate weathered the battering long enough to slam the tip of his staff into the ground, which sent out a small blast in all directions, throwing Weiss back. This gap in the fight allowed Solaris too open fire again, Desert Wind unleashing its remarkable firestorm, the charged dust rounds exploding against the staff Hate was extending. However, this time, something changed. The staff no longer swirled about in an impressive feat of coordination and skill, it merely stayed there, held at arms-length vertically at eye level to Hate, and all the rounds exploded in the air, the faint shimmer of what appeared to be a shield visible in the air. Solaris cursed and dove to one side as he knew what was to follow. Hate raised the staff above his head in one hand and it _glowed,_ the entire length shining with an inner yellow light as it absorbed the elemental dust Solaris just used, and then charged its own length with that same element. Hate barrelled forward at the two fighters challenging him, and swung the staff in a frenzy of backhands, spinning swipes, uppercuts, low cuts, parries and jabs, each swing releasing a trail of superheated air in its wake, each time it impacted a person (or the ground) creating a small explosion. Solaris felt his Aura deplete heavily after taking a few supercharged ultra-blows from the staff, but Weiss, being more agile, managed to avoid more, yet the few that did connect clearly hurt _far_ more.

"How does he do that?" Weiss asked as Hate paused his offensive as the staffs fire died down. He circled the two warily, no doubt tired from swinging that heavy staff so hard and so long.

"Simple, dormant dust runs along the length of the staffs inner core, when it gains the properties of the dust used against it, and then becomes charged by the elemental powers of his opponent, provided they strike his staff and not him. It runs out very fast, depending on how much was used on him, though" Solaris summarised as Weiss levelled her rapier. Solaris put away Desert Wind to draw his knife, the Edge of Suffering. Dust would only empower his opponent at this point.

However, Hate had also changed combat tactics, and was now holding his staff downwards, tip touching the concrete, as he raised his arm, bent at the elbow, clenched fist facing inwards…oh… _shit._

 _Not that._

Solaris realised what Hate was doing and tried warning Weiss to stay away from him, but it was too late, and she charged forward, after leaping off a glyph and into the air. Hate looked up and opened his hand, palm facing Weiss, arm outstretched, emitting a dark red light directly into her path. She got struck by this light and immediately fell from the air. Hate closed his palm and watched Weiss look up at him, her expression broken, her shoulders shaking, eyes wild. She looked up at him in defiance, yet Hate showed no signs of mercy, and unleashed the baleful light upon her once more. Weiss screamed out in something indescribable, shouting wordlessly at some unguessed emotion, her eyes shut tight, body shaking, arms wobbling and fists clenched. She collapsed to the ground and looked like she was about to faint before Solaris drove forward and slashed at Hate with the Edge of Suffering, landing a blow across his arm. His aura took the blades wrath, but the force made him stagger and the light skew to one side before cutting out. Solaris landed upright after his aerial attack and then unleashed the full force of his semblance on Hate, flinging him so hard against a shipping container that it, and possibly some bones in Hates body, shattered on impact. Hatreds Aura broke when this happened, yet still he rose, apparently unphased, dusting off his cloak and balancing on his staff, before charging forward with a roar.

"Not this time, you bastard!" Solaris shouted and urged Hatred into the ground, the full force of Gravity pushing him into the concrete. Solaris didn't stop there. He extended both his arms and turned his palms into clawed hands, curling his fingers and pointing downwards. Suddenly, Hated felt something constricting inside him and realised Solaris was going to crush his internal organs. Hates mask cracked and splintered as Solaris tore it off, revealing the face below to be a scarred and bruised face of a brutish looking teenager, with a few strands of blonde hair falling into view. He tried saying something, no doubt an insult to Solaris or Weiss, but Solaris would have none of it. And then he begun constricting his throat. Blood was coughed from Hatred as his lungs became compressed, his eyes bulged and his body flattened to the ground. Yet still he glared in titular hatred at them both, his life fading as Solaris crushed it out of him, pushing him to within an inch of his life, and possibly beyond, where it not for Weiss, who had managed to rise, and tackled Solaris to the ground. Solaris punched Weiss in the jaw. He would not see anyone escape, damn it. Not this time.

 _No ONE! NOT. ONE. SOUL!_

Solaris looked up and saw Hated rising, his hand on his jewel in his chest plate.

 _No no no no no no! Not now! He means to escape still!_

Solaris rose, and extended his arm once more in the direction of Hate, but Weiss, still able to stand by some remarkable happenstance, grabbed his arm and tried to hold him back.  
"Let him go! Solaris! Let him go! Don't kill him! You've let someone go before! You can do it again! Please!" She shouted, tears in her eyes. She would not let Solaris kill this man, no matter what he may have done, without capturing him first and putting him to trial for whatever crimes he had committed. Hunters were just, and here Solaris was, about to execute this man without a verdict! Even if he had tried to kill them, they had to be better than that!

Solaris had silver lightning branching of his own armour, the jewel in his chest plate glowing brightly as his power filled it. He had blood running from his nose, and his gaze was fixed solely on Hate, who was on to feet, and his jewel in one hand, staff in the other.

"I CAN'T LET HIM ESCAPE!" Solaris shouted in pain and anger, looking at his age old foe as Aaron materialised next to him in a blast of decaying leaves, who then looked at Solaris with pity in his eyes, before grabbing Hate by the arm and pulling him with him into a whirlwind of autumn leaves before vanishing into thin air. He had gone. Hate would return to Beacon and his mind altering illusion would return. Weiss would lose memory of all that happened here, and Solaris would never see him again until their next fight.

Suddenly, he had remembered what he did to Weiss, and what Hate had also done. He spun around, his heart in his mouth, guilt overwhelming him.

" _Oh…_ oh gods Weiss I am so…I am so, so sorry." He cried, and fell to his knees, his head in his hands, tears running down his cheeks. He had failed to stop Hate here, and Weiss had been exposed to his powers. He had failed at restraining himself in the heat of battle. And he had failed to protect his team member. He had failed at everything, it seemed.

"Weiss…I've…I've failed! At everything! I…I…I…" He couldn't find the right words, but Weiss could. She knelt down and embraced him, hugging him tightly as he wept softly. She was no Yang when it came to hugging, but at this point, Solaris did not care. She patted him on the back, and soon his weeping subsided from quiet sobbing to merely teary eyes. She let go when she felt him calm down sufficiently, and pulled back, sitting on her knees, looking him in the eye. Solaris' eyes had turned silver, and seemed to glow as if they were luminous mercury, but eventually this died down and his normal blue eyes returned.

"When Hate…when he…used his powers…what did you see?" He asked eventually, and Weiss looked away. She understood now why this opponent was so rightly feared and loathed by Solaris. His semblance was thought projection. He made other people see in their minds what he wanted them to see, and this appeared to be coupled by an innate understanding of the targets memories. He knew what you hated most, what you feared most, what you cherished most. He could fabricate visions of these things…terrible visions.

"I saw…I saw my family lying dead. My father, dead, my sister…lying in a pool of blood. I saw our home burn in fire, the Schnee company collapse. I saw our team…our team dead as well. You, impaled through the heart by a blade, lying dead in a field of black grass, Yang, the life snuffed from her, Blake, consumed by shadows and…and Ruby…alone and dying on a bed of roses. And in the vision…I saw Beacon burn from within, and I knew…somehow, it was all my fault. It was like a nightmare, but…but way more intense, as if I could see every detail of it in absolute clarity and precision. It was…visceral and painful. It was all that I feared made flesh" She wiped a tear from her eye.

"But it wasn't real, was it? Was any of it?" She asked slowly, her eyes closing.

Solaris shook his head, holding her head in hand as she begun to fade from consciousness. Solaris felt himself begin to slip as well, no doubt that accursed Hates work. His mind altering semblance continued to plague them. Fumbling in his pocket, he pulled out his scroll and sent a desperate message to Yang.

"Please help. Weiss and I injured in fight with assailant. Weiss unconscious. Please help." He put in the address and then hit send, before the effort of holding his eyes open became too much. He saw Weiss slowly close her eyes as she faded away into blackness and Solaris lost grip on consciousness himself.

The two lay on the cold concrete floor of the warehouse, alone, tired and wounded, awaiting Yang to come and rescue them. Night began to fall and darkness enveloped them before Yang finally arrived, running in to the warehouse to find them both flat on the floor, Solaris lying in a small puddle of his own blood, and Weiss laying beaten and bruised. She picked the two up, her throat closing up and tears staining her eyes and cheeks at the sight of Solaris so wounded and helpless, holding Weiss over her shoulder and dragging Solaris by his coat behind her outside of the warehouse to a waiting medical craft. She watched the paramedics take them both and rush them off down the lane, and Yang quietly vowed to kill whoever, or whatever, had done this.

As she got onto her bike, she received a message from Ruby.

"Found Blake at the docks. Bring the team"

 **A/N: Double upload as a treat.**

 **Yeah. So that also happened. This is partly why I rated it M. This and an upcoming chapter with Solaris and Yang (If you people can guess what that is *Suggestive nudge*)**

 **Also Hate is both referred to as Hate and Hatred, if you're a good observer you'll probably have realised Hate is using his title like a name whereas Hatred is referring to him in his full title. The same way Ms. Dutch is called Ms. Dutch instead of Agony. It's just that Hate really does not like using his name anymore, hence Hate as a shortened version of Hatred.**

 **And, as always, reviews would be appreciated!**


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9: Darkness Gathers

Ozpin was having a troubled day.

He had heard of the fight at the docks, Blake's troubled past, a message from Qrow foreshadowing great struggles ahead, and now he had learnt that Solaris and Weiss had been injured in a fight with an unknown assailant who may or may not be within the school.

Entering the medical ward where Solaris lay wounded, Ozpin inquired after his health from the nurses.

"He has lost some blood, but nothing too severe. His Aura is already healing him, so we project a recovery in a few hours…hopefully. He will have to be monitored the whole time, as we have no medical records available on file for him." One of the nurses said, looking down at the stricken Solaris, his eyes closed. Yang sat in a chair in the corner of the room, asleep with her head in one hand. She had been there all night, apparently.

"Tell Ms. Belladonna to come down here and take Ms. Xiao Long back to their dorm. We will send for them when Solaris awakes" Ozpin instructed the nurses, who then lifted her out of the chair and carried her sleeping form to the waiting room for Blake to get her. Ozpin pulled up a chair and sat down next to Solaris, sipping his coffee slowly and placing a plate of sandwiches down next to him on a side table, alongside a glass of water.

Ozpin sat and waited for at least half an hour before Solaris stirred from his slumber.

"Ah, you awaken" Ozpin said softly as Solaris opened his eyes and then looked around suddenly, before his hand clutched his chest.

"My…my armour…where….where is it?" He said quickly, panic rising. Ozpin placed a hand on his shoulder and held him gently down on the bed.

"It's safe in your room. The nurses had to remove it to patch the wounds beneath. Ms. Xiao Long made sure to take good care of it. She is a fine young lady, I assure you. I'm happy to see you two…so close" He informed the young gentlemen.

"Thank…you?" Solaris said slowly, unused to getting praised on personal matters…or…well…pretty much anything.

"Yet I can't help but wonder…why is that armour so important to you? What is its significance? It is more than a mere suit of protective equipment, isn't it? You and all your past associates have the same, identical, armour, variating only in the colour of both plate and jewel. So, I feel you still have yet to tell us the full picture, even though I am sure you would in time. But I feel that time is running short, for you and for me. So, if there is anything, anything at all, that I, or anyone else, need know, tell me here and now, and I shall write out a report for your team and anyone else who need know. I will only tell them what you want, but I will have to tell them something. So…what is it that matters so much to you about these people?" Ozpin commanded him.

Solaris looked away, and then sighed slowly, exhaling a small breath.

"The people from my past, the four of them, are, as I told Ms. Goodwitch, and I am sure you know by now, an ancient cult, many thousands of years old, from a bygone era and civilization. The titles held by each member are Hatred, Agony, Death, Entropy, and Suffering, forming the group known collectively as HADES. We…they, I mean….represent the tenants of the apocalypse, the greatest ordeals people shall have to pass to be worthy of living in the next civilization after the old one fell. They ensure that only the best and the strongest survive, in a belief that this leads to the further perfection of civilization. The titles are earned by being recruited from a young age, in which most of your life is a serious of tests and challenges designed to mould you into the perfect champion of said title. In my case, the tests I endured was the death and destruction of everyone and everything in my old life. All that happened was part of their sick little scheme to recruit me, starting from when I was nine. The death of everyone I knew back then was rigged, arranged and planned to ensure I would either die or emerge the strongest of them all. And I did. I first met them when I was 15. After my sister had been killed by one of their agents and another one of their agents drove me away from Vacuo itself, they showed themselves for the first time in my life. Of course, I did not know them then, so I saw them as my saviours. They took me to a place called the Citadel, the ancient capital of the civilization that spawned the HADES cult, a desert fortress city, now in ruins, in an isolated expanse of Vacuo, where no maps exist, only empty, barren desert. But it is there, a towering ruin rising from the dunes. And in the tower at the centre of these ruins is where the HADES cult lurks, within a tower some twenty stories high, filled with the wonders and marvels of a civilization so advanced that it once possessed technology equal to, or greater than, our own current level of technology"

Ozpin, if alarmed, disturbed or worried, did not show it, but then again, he knew how many civilizations had risen and fallen over the long march of time, and there a very few records left by the passing of ages of these places. Indeed, the vast majority of the world, whilst roughly mapped, was little understood beyond the four main kingdoms. Anything could be out there, even the remains of a civilization that once rivalled or exceeded the current one.

"So…what exactly is in this Citadel?" He asked, not wanting to miss an important detail such as this.

"The Citadel was the palace of the ruling elite, and the supreme overlord himself. He was…a mighty being, someone who held impossible power, further augmented by extreme technology, if the records in the ancient library are anything to go by. Yet, there came a time when this power could not stop the downfall of his civilization, whether that was by Grimm or internal strife we know not, but the leader had left records, vowing that he shall return to see his civilization perfected, his rule restored once more. He used some exceedingly powerful technology of an ill understood nature to craft five identical soul harbouring cores, each one designed to store one fifth of his power, his soul, and mind, indestructible in nature and always linked to the other four. These jewels were entombed within five vaults along with instructions as to their purpose. The survivors of that horrible downfall found these vaults, and the soul stores, and were then possessed by the ideals of the supreme overlord to see his civilization perfected, all weaknesses torn out and crushed, each time it fell it was to be rebuilt in a grander, greater visage. But, as time went on, it became impossible to rebuild what was left, so they set out to find other civilizations to perfect. And it has been that way for thousands of years. Until now, you see, for the jewels, the soul stores, they are getting restless. His power is growing once more, and his sentience is nearing full restoration. He has convinced Death, I fear, that now is the time for his resurrection. This will be the last perfection, as this is the first civilization in almost three thousand years that has rivalled his own. Death will seek to restore his sentience fully to a physical form, and then…well…then the Supreme Overlord will rule. Forever."

Ozpin nodded slowly. So that is why those jewels seemed so important.

"So, correct me if I am wrong, but that means that jewel you possess holds a fifth of this…tyrants…power, soul and sentience. A fifth of his existence?"

Solaris nodded.

"And through those jewels, we can use the nature of them being linked to each other to carry our thoughts through his own, allowing for a telepathic link between us, if we so chose. The jewels also hold a tiny fraction of his semblance within them, which burns brighter and longer the greater our need for it is in combat, hence the coloured lightning that sparks off us in combat. We can't actually use it, though, it is just ever present, desiring for it to be used, a sensation on the tip of being released, straining the boundaries of its confinement to be unleashed once more upon the world. It builds up to the point where if we don't use enough of our own power, it will burn out our Aura and our souls if it goes unsatisfied by the end of a combat. Which is the reason for my current state in this hospital. I would've done it by killing my opponent, but Weiss intervened, leading to my suffering from Aura loss and quite a bit of bleeding. As well as falling unconscious."

Ozpin readjusted his glasses, and took a sip of his coffee. _This young man is dangerous, and powerful. More so then he realises. I shall have to keep a close eye on him in the future._

"I…see" He said aloud. "And all members of HADES suffer this same problem?"

Solaris nodded "They do indeed. But they won't hesitate to unleash as much power as needed to satisfy the desire to destroy."

"Now, Mr. Potentia, now that that is resolved and cleaned up, would you care to explain who, exactly, are these HADES people and their powers? And what interest they have in you?" Ozpin inquired gently, not wanting to strain the young man too much. Solaris agreed.

"Certainly. Hatred, whom Weiss and I fought, is the one reason you won't ever find them in your school, no matter how hard you may search. His power his though and mind projection. If he wants, he will project the idea in your mind that you've known him for as long as you would know any other student, that he has been here for as long as anyone else, that him, and the rest of them, are students like everyone else, that appear in class each day, and do their work. He will make it appear as if he is no different from everyone else and that no attention need be paid to him. He is effectively invisible despite being completely obvious. The others would also use this and hide in plain sight. Unless someone points them, someone who is totally unaffected by the power, or they draw too much scrutiny, the trick is absolute. The next one to worry about is Agony, or Ms. Dutch, who is a psychopath and a Faunas, a Jaguar Faunas if I recall correctly. The aspect she shares with the animal is having Jaguar claws, which she keeps hidden under gloved hands. Her power is probably an explanation for her psychopathy; she can utilise lost Aura, her or her opponents, to fuel her strength or agility. As long as she can inflict pain, or as long as she feels pain, she can keep fighting harder and faster. She is a textbook masochist, except she gets better from it. She wields two knives, one which flays her victims, the other which shreds her victims. She is unbelievably fast, but, if you hit her faster, get her before she gets you, she weakens really, really fast. Speed is the key with her, not strength. The problem is, its hard to find someone faster than her."

Ozpin nodded whilst writing this down. Information like this was important, if ever there was a fight between this group and anyone else in the school. Not that that would be likely, as Solaris said they would be virtually invisible to everyone else.

"Now, here is the worst of them all. Death. As you can guess by the name, he is a very…focused individual. His power is the ability to slip in and out of reality, leaping to and fro this dimension and another. When in that other dimension, he moves at normal speed, but can move through, or under, anything. And he can bring his weapons into and out of this alter dimension separate from his body. So his strikes literally appear from thin air, or even phase inside of you. And Aura doesn't work when the weapon manifests within you. Trust me. I've seen it happen before. He is almost impossible to stop. Especially since all his blades require is one touch to ignite your internal organs and overload your nervous system, as well as evaporating all the moisture inside you."

Ozpin paused as he was writing this down. This indeed sounded…troublesome, to say the least. A fighter who could ignore any and every defence that existed, that could kill with a touch and couldn't even be hit…or seen…in return? This didn't bode well.

"He isn't immortal though. He is vulnerable to physical injury whilst in this realm, and if you can land a hit on him, well, it would do well. He isn't the toughest of fighters, mainly because he doesn't need to be when he can't ever be truly hurt. So long as he keeps on leaping to and fro dimensions, he is untouchable, but with patience, timing, and good reflexes, beating him can be done. It's happened to him once or twice before that I know of, mainly through dumb luck in training."

Ozpin breathed a sigh of internal relief. So Solaris knew they could be beaten. That was reassuring.

"And finally, we have Entropy, whose real name is Aaron Autumns. His power is teleportation, a pretty simple power compared to the others, but he can do it very fast. He can teleport multiple times in the space of a second, which, will tiring for him, means he can be hard to keep track off, especially in a fight. But the real gem of his power his is ability to do it over great distances. I know he has the power to leap from one side of Vale to other in under the span of a second without breaking a sweat, with the only tell-tale sign he was there being a pile of decaying Autumn leaves."

Ozpin wrote this down as well, and then silently handed over the written summary for Solaris to read, to see if there was anything that he had missed or needed to expand upon. However, Solaris seemed to be content with what was said and handed the scroll back to Ozpin.

"I'll see that a file is written out and handed to your team. Ms. Goodwitch and I shall also have a copy. Thank you for your time, Mr. Potentia, you have been most helpful. I wish you a speedy recovery." And with that, Ozpin sat up, motioned to the food and drinks, imploring Solaris to have some, and then left, with his mind processing all these thoughts at a millions miles per hour. Something needed to be done, but right now, Solaris seemed quite assured there was no direct threat from the HADES, sorry, HADE group. Not yet, at least. It seemed they were holding their cards to their chests. But Ozpin and Solaris had both seen the unspoken truth. Death sought to restore the Supreme Overlord back to life, and needed Solaris' jewel to do so.

Back in waiting room, Yang's eyes fluttered open, noting that she was no longer in the ward with Solaris. Wiping her bleary eyes, she stood up, straightened her shirt, and was going to go back inside to find why she had been moved, to find Ozpin on his way out.

"Ah. Miss Xiao Long. You'll be pleased to here Mr. Potentia is recovering well. I've sent for your partner to come take you back to your dorms, and she will be here any moment. I'd recommend being brief with Solaris, and letting him recover. He was most tried by that fight" He said briefly, then walked past her back on the way to his office. She caught sight of something written down on the professors scroll, something which read "Solaris is potentially too dangerous to have here. Recommend extreme caution in future activities"

XXX

Solaris was about to go back to sleep when the room was brightened immeasurably by the presence of Yang, who burst in, her radiant presence bringing a smile to his face instantly. Sitting up on the spot, he nodded at her.

"Yang" He said casually, as if there was nothing wrong with him being hospitalised. Yang ran up to him and embraced him, wrapping her arms around him tightly, not wanting to ever let go from this embrace. Solaris returned the gesture, patting her softly on the back as she quietly closed her eyes and sighed in relief at his wellbeing.

"Solaris, it's so good to see you well again!" She cried happily after realising Solaris from her vice like hug. Solaris laughed softly.

"It's only been a few hours, hasn't it?" He asked her, and she shook her head.

"You were out for almost a whole day. Weiss recovered in hours, but you remained…well…almost comatose" She said, worry in her voice as she sat on the foot of his bed.

"I…was?" Solaris asked slowly, and Yang began to tear up.

"I was so worried about you. I didn't know what had happened. Weiss can't seem to recall the full details of the fight, just that they were clad in black, wielded a staff, and showed her horrible visions.

"Well, that was pretty much it" He said, not daring to mention how he had lost control and almost killed Hatred, and potentially Weiss as well, before getting overwhelmed by the pent up power inside him waiting to be released.

"I'll kill whoever that was that did that to you two, I swear" She vowed, and Solaris smiled gently at her.

"I don't even know where they went" He told her, before adding "So, for all I know, they've gone forever"

Yang shook her head, and hugged Solaris again, causing him to groan something in reply.

"I…think…that's….tight…enough….Yang" He managed between grunts as Yang hugged him. Hard.

"Oh, ah, sorry." She said hastily, pulling back and looking him in the eyes. Solaris smiled, marvelling at how beautiful she truly was.

"But, Solaris, people don't just try to kill other people for no reason and then leave it at that" She said, and he nodded.

"Well, someone might, particularly the people I've met before" He joked, and Yang smiled, hugging him (softly) as he stroked her hair. They looked at each other and slowly kissed, neither one saying a word but sharing the unspoken love between them at this point. However, right at the most inopportune moment, Blake walked in, looking for Yang.

"Yang? Are you in her-EEP!" She squeaked suddenly when she saw her and Solaris kissing each other. Yang stopped abruptly and turned to Blake really, really slowly before saying, sarcastically, "Yes".

Solaris didn't look Blake in the eye and had one hand covering half his face as he found something of great interest in one of the grey walls of his medical ward. Yang got off Solaris bed and stood bolt upright.

"Do you want something, Blake?" She said gently, not wanting to appear too harsh at this point about being interrupted. Blake nodded, blushing gently at seeing the display of affection she wasn't really meant see. Solaris and Yang liked to keep all that romantic stuff mostly under wraps when around other people, and seeing them being so…well…affectionate, combined with her repertoire of smutty knowledge gleamed from bad romances and other smut sources she had read over the long years made her mind wander down tracks best left unexplored. As in, totally unexplored. Preferably unknown as well.

"Ah…yeah…that is to say, umm…the nurses…they say, well, they say Solaris needs rest" She managed to sputter, while thinking _"That may be what he needs, but it certainly doesn't appear to be what he WANTS…NO! Bad Blake! I must not think of those things…"_

Yang nodded despondently, before turning to Solaris and then hugging him once more. Blake looked away as the bonfire of her imagination had another oil drum thrown on it, as she imagined what else they could've been doing before she got here, or at any other point when they were alone, or when Solaris got out of here tonight and came to the dorm…that would only have her, Yang and Solaris as Ruby and Weiss were staying late in the library studying together. She would have to find something else to do. Maybe she could fine Sun.

Yang finally released Solaris back into his bed, before giving him a quick kiss on the lips, causing Blake to blush even more. Yang saw this and smiled.

"What's the matter? Cat got your tongue?" She joked, laughing, as she grabbed Blake by the arm and led her out after saying goodbye to Solaris. Blake managed a half wave as she was pulled out by Yang, leaving him alone in the quiet room, the sound of Yang and Blake talking and laughing together fading as they left the medical rooms.

Solaris let out a short breath when he was alone, full of longing. How he wanted to be free from this place and out there with Yang. How he wanted more than anything to still be in her embrace, her gentle warmth, that radiant smile. How he wanted more than anything to run his hands through her golden hair, to hold her by the waist and remain locked in a lovers embrace past the setting of the sun. How he wanted that more than anything right now.

Solaris soon slipped into a dreamless sleep, and the hours fell away, to the setting of the sun and the rising of the stars and moon in the night sky.

 **A/N: Here would be the end of Volume 1 of RWBY, but Team RWBYS will continue on for two or three more chapters before resuming the story at the start of Volume 2. Adult content ahoy in the next chapter with Solaris and Yang, and also a meeting of villains, as Roman discovers he might not be the only lord of the underworld when he meets a member of HADES…**

 **All that is too come, however!**

 **Reviews, as always, would be loved!**


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10: Where mortal minds best not wander:

Blake sat alone in their team dorm room.

Yang had left some time ago to sign Solaris out of the medical ward and Ruby and Weiss were out studying, apparently. Together.

Leaving her alone in the room.

Blake paced back and forth, wandering if she should try to see if she could spend some time with JNPR, in their room, and leave Yang and Solaris be. Or she could find Ruby and Weiss and tell them not to return for a while…but then again, telling Ruby what her sister might be getting up to might weird her out, and Weiss would no doubt object to any…intimacy…with anyone inside their shared room. Blake pondered if she could go find Sun as another option for avoiding awkward situations.

She was about to do get up to do just this when she heard something whisper.

"Is anyone there?" Blake said, calling out to the empty room. She opened the door to the closet to see if someone was hiding there. Nope. She looked in the open bathroom. Nope. Under the beds?

Also nope.

Yet she heard it very clearly once more.

"… _come find me…"_ Whispered a disembodied voice. Blake looked around the room. Was someone's scroll left behind playing music? No…nothing could be heard, and besides…who left their scroll here…

 _Solaris._

All his stuff had been placed around his hammock, his armour on his stand. Blake knew she really shouldn't look through his stuff, but she had to find where that sound was coming from. She saw Solaris scroll lying on one of his pillows. She reached out for it, fingers almost touching it…

"… _I am the power in the dark. I am the light that shines defiant. I am the burning soul of time forgotten. My time to return is nigh! Who dares oppose this?"_

Blake recoiled, her hand inches away from Solaris scroll. It was stone dead. Off. Silent. Nothing came from it. So, then, what was making that sound…or…more accurately…speaking?

Blake looked around and caught sight of Solaris jewel. It was glowing silver.

"… _I am the strength, I am the power, I am the forge of nobility…"_

The jewel whispered seductively, ensnaring Blake in its subtle whispers. She looked into it and saw her reflection, but it wasn't really her. It showed her standing in front of a crowd, roaring their adulation, a crown on her head, queenly robes flowing from her back, the Faunas and Humans standing side by side, the races united by her rule. She saw a tower in the desert, a city in ruins, and then she saw an alter image, the same city, intact, green and sparkling, beautiful beyond compare, five flags flying at the top of the majestic tower, depicting a different animal stylised in heraldic fashion. She saw crowds of adoring citizens chanting the name of some benevolent ruler, clad in the finery of a thousand kings. She then saw the city once more, only this time it was in ruins, the banner of a raging serpent, one of the five flags she saw earlier, the only one that remained, as the others fell. An explosion shook the city and the vision blurred.

Blake reached out to touch the jewel.

"… _I am the will, I am the desire. I am the power to make change…"_

Blake's fingers touched the surface.

"… _I am the light, I am the radiant beam, I am the perfection of civilization…"_

Blake suddenly realised she had no control over her arms anymore. Her hand reached out and removed the jewel from its place in the chest plate. She looked deep into it, her body no longer hers to control.

"… _You have found me…"_ Called the jewel, and Blake saw before her a vision.

A man stood in front of her, clad in the finery of kings, black robes sweeping from his back, inlayed with gold and lined with red streaks. He wore pale white armour, in which five circular holes, arranged in a pentagon, encircled the chest plate. He had auburn hair and vibrant green eyes, his pale complexion making him appear half dead. He wore a crown of gold upon his head, and a band of diamonds adorned it. He carried a sceptre capped with a silver skull adornment, the simple blackwood handle banded in orange. He wore a blue and red glove on each hand, blue on his right, red on his left. The man looked at Blake, and Blake looked at him. He was the man from the visions.

" _...I am so close to manifesting in full form, all I need is the jewels…"_ He said, his voice hollow and toneless. His hand stretched out, reaching for the jewel in Blake's hand, his fingers becoming blurred, like wisps of smoke, upon nearing the surface, as if he was blowing away by drawing to near. Blake was about to step closer when the door opened and Solaris and Yang walked in. Their conversation died down as they saw the same thing Blake did.

"Blake, NO!" Solaris yelled, and dove forward, knocking the jewel out her hand. The man vanished into ethereal smoke as the jewel fell, only to be caught by Solaris before it hit the ground. He turned around and looked at her.

"What did you hear?" He demanded, leaning in.

"What did he say?" Solaris yelled, grabbing her by the shoulders.

Blake looked as if she had awoken from a trance. She looked around, eyes wild, before she settled down and fixed her gaze on Solaris.

"I…he said something…something about…why can't I recall it…something about being the perfection of civilization…and…and the power to make change" She said, the effort of remembering clearly very difficult.

"You saw one of the previous owners of this jewel. The first, in fact" He said simply, remembering Ozpins report, which would probably be ready tomorrow.

"I tell you later" He said, looking at the two girls. Yang looked Blake in the eye and asked her if everything was alright, to which Blake nodded. Solaris was impressed. Either Blake had remarkably strong willpower to resist going mad at the sights the jewel could show you, or she had seen something which had inspired her. It was possible, Solaris knew, for the jewel to show you sights of the future as you desired it, albeit one far more selfish, arrogant and power hungry, but it could show you everything you could want fulfilled. The ambition of a mad ruler of a bygone time was contained within these jewel, and while only a very small fraction, what little you were exposed to could have you realising just how grand a vision of the world you possess. Blake got up and looked at the two, before she said something about going to the library. No doubt she wanted to sought that vision out by finding out who…or what…she had seen. Solaris doubted she could find anything worthwhile, but he knew if anyone could find something, it would be her.

Solaris looked at Yang, who seem baffled by this recent turn of events.

"Who was that man?" She asked, pointing to the empty air where the vision was.

"It was who I said, the man who made this jewel. The first owner. His soul is partially imprinted in it. He thought it would make him immortal. It didn't. Only in passing." He explained to Yang, who folder her arms.

"You're not making any sense" She protested, and Solaris smiled, sitting on his hammock and putting the jewel back into his chest piece. He watched as the light within died down to a harmless, soft, glow.

"I know. I might make more sense in the morning. I'm still addled after the fight. Fighting someone who uses mind and thought alteration is really annoying, even if you're not directly exposed to it…the presence of someone like that, the presence itself, it still…messes with you, however slightly. Gives you a headache afterwards."

Yang smiled, and stepped close to Solaris.

"I could always help you with that." She said, leaning in.

Solaris sensed where she was going with this, and smiled, kissing her softly on the lips. Yang gently grabbed him by his arms and raised him out of his sitting position on his hammock and lifted him upright. She ran her hands through his hair, as he held her waist. Yang looked into his eyes, and he looked into hers, lilac on deep blue. Yang smiled slightly, and then pushed Solaris ever so gently back. Onto Blake's bed.

"Uh…Yang?" He said, realising this was getting a bit out of hand. "I don't think Blake would approve of this…" Solaris said, as Yang lowered him onto his back.

"That's what makes it fun" She whispered naughtily. Solaris tried to sit up and protest.

"What? And my presence doesn't?" He joked, titling his head. Yang put a finger to his lips and motioned for him to be quiet.

"Just don't tell her then…" She informed him, and started taking off his shirt.

"Uh…while I am all for sleeping without a shirt in hot temperatures, I am not quite sure that that is where this is going" He said in a sort of hurried tone. Yang smiled. He was nervous. S _he_ was making Solaris nervous. It seems the intimate charms of woman might be his weakness.

"No, it isn't…" She left the statement incomplete. Solaris tried to say something, but Yang shushed him again, and took off his shirt completely.

"Uh…Yang? Wha-what are you d-doing?" He stuttered nervously. Yang relented long enough for him to say what he wanted to say.

"I am not sure I feel entirely comfortable doing this, Yang" he said slowly, not looking her in the eyes. Yang smiled, and turned his head towards her.

"Why not? You like me, I like you, it's only natural for our age" She said, kissing him. Solaris looked at her pleadingly.

"No…I-I understand that, it's just that…well…Blake's bed…it seems a bit…well…intrusive" He finished rather lamely, his ability to formulate coherent and rational sentences abandoning his mental capacity as Yang slowly undid her top whilst he was talking.

"Not nearly as intrusive as this" She said lustily, putting her hands down Solaris shorts, and then grabbing the underwear beneath, yanking them down and off. Solaris lay before her. All his clothes were on the ground. Yang finished taking her top off, exposing her bare breasts to Solaris.

 _How did I end up here?_

"…Well. This escalated quickly" He said, regarding Yang with new eyes, before she took off her skirt and shorts as well. Yang put her legs on either side of Solaris and straddled him by the waist, before pushing him gently down on Blake's pillows, and then bending over to kiss him on the lips. Solaris run his hand down her blonde hair, over her bare spine and to her lower back. His other hand held her by the waist. Yang held Solaris in the kiss whilst she ran her hands over his chest.

She eventually released Solaris from this kiss and looked up and down his naked body, liking (with a passion) what she saw, especially his well-endowed lower self. Solaris still had his hands on her waist, and she gently took them and placed them on her chest. His hands were very warm yet surprisingly soft, yet he didn't seem to do anything of his violation unless Yang made him too.

 _Could he really be that unsure?_ Yang thought, while imagining all the things she could probably get him to do. Solaris had a faint smile on his lips as Yang leant back, revealing just how truly…buxom…she was. Solaris really had no idea how what to do. Was he supposed to say something, do something?

Yang merely smiled as she saw Solaris blush, _actually blush,_ knowing how great his ignorance was in this area. Yang was about to take it to whole new level for him, reaching down to grab his…

"Er…Yang…listen…" Solaris said in hushed tones. Yang stopped what she about to and listened. Voices. Coming down the hallway.

Ruby and Weiss were coming back.

Moving at speeds hitherto unknown to man, Solaris and Yang scrambled for clothes, as Yang barricaded the door shut with her body whilst Solaris hastily put all his clothes back on.

"Just my fucking luck" Yang complained. "I finally get you naked, and they come back!" She whispered/shouted to Solaris, who had got his pants back on and was putting his shirt on.

"Now, Yang, as much as I know you'd like me to gaze openly your heavenly, busty, bare beauty, I think some clothes might be in order for you, too!" He replied, throwing her bra and skirt to her. Ruby and Weiss's voices grew clearer and clearer. They were almost at the door. Yang hurriedly dressed herself, as the door handle began to turn, then stopped, as they heard Jaune's voice in the hallway, trying (unsuccessfully) to flirt with Weiss on her way back to her room.

 _That's the second time that man has saved my skin. I should get him a medal._ Solaris thought, as Yang finished redressing, fixed her hair, and sat down on her bed as if she had been there the whole time.

The door opened and Ruby and Weiss waltzed in, completely unaware what they had just interrupted. Most likely for the best.

"Hiya guys!" Ruby shouted cheerfully at the two, Solaris casually leaning back in his hammock and pretending as if nothing was wrong.

"Ruby, you've been quiet for hours, am I supposing that a few more minutes will I sit down in our dorm is too much to ask after the library session?" Weiss inquired. Ruby nodded, jumping up and down on Weiss bed.

"Ruby! Cut that out!" Weiss said. "Is there anything else that could be worse than jumping on someone else's bed without their permission?"

At this moment Solaris struggled to hold in a snigger, holding a clenched fist to his mouth as he looked the other way and made a muffled "Hmmmkkkk" noise into his hand.

Weiss narrowed her eyes. "Did I say something funny?" She demanded. This time Yang was the one snickering gently.

"No. Not at all. I was…just remembering…the…ah…joke Yang said earlier" Solaris improvised, and Yang burst out laughing.

"What was the joke?" Ruby asked gleefully, but Yang beat Solaris to the punch. "It was something inappropriate, Rubes" she mustered as Weiss scoffed something about immature team mates.

Solaris leant back in his hammock and sent a message to Yang on his scroll.

"So...shall we finish that little session sometime?"

He hit SEND, and waited for a reply.

"Yes. Tomorrow. I'll get the others out on some errand or other. We go as well. Double back here. We should have a few hours."

Solaris smiled and sent back a thumbs up in reply before putting his scroll away. Solaris looked over at the clock on the wall. Curfew was going to over in an hour or so.

"Did you guys see Blake in the library?" Solaris asked Weiss and Ruby, who nodded.

"She seemed pretty determined to find something in particular, but I have no idea what. She is ahead on all her class work and she has a vast supply of fiction right here" Weiss declared, and Ruby nodded in agreement.

 _She'll be back soon. Can't be too many books for her to bring back…if any…_

The group passed the time their own way, Solaris reading whilst eating a packet of skittles, his new favourite snack after Ruby introduced him to them, Yang by idly scrolling through her scroll and wishing she had pictures of Solaris to go through, Weiss by reading, and Ruby by pouring over weapon manuals. No one was really speaking until Blake returned, an old leather bound hardcover book in hand, incredibly thick, with dusty yellow pages sealed behind a bronze binder. She closed the door behind her, let out a sigh as she leaned back against it, and then took two steps towards her bed.

And paused.

Solaris casually scratched his nose as if there was nothing amiss. Yang suddenly had increased focus on her scroll.

Blake paused as she narrowed her eyes.

Solaris held a straight face that was so normal and innocent that by virtue of its innocence it begun to look guilty.

Blake turned, ever so slowly to look at Solaris, who managed to not glance in her direction whilst maintaining utterly no signs of having something to hide. Blake ground her teeth and turned to look up at the top bunk with Yang on it.

" _Yang"_ She said ever so slowly, as she placed the book down on her blanket.

Yang looked down at Blake as if nothing was wrong. Solaris meanwhile was trying to sneak out of his hammock and inch closer to the door.

"Going somewhere, Solaris?" She said, without turning around or taking her eyes of Yang. Solaris shook his head.

"No. Just stretching…" He said, as he made a show of extending his arms.

Ruby and Weiss were looking at this display with a mix of amusement and bafflement. What was going on?  
"Oh…stretching like you and Yang apparently were on my bed?" She said bluntly. Yang maintained an expression of shocked innocence while Solaris opted for the baffled (yet still innocent) look. Ruby, meanwhile, felt her face turn a bright shade of red and Weiss stood up in disgust.

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?" She shouted at Blake, and then turned to Solaris.

"It's not true? Is it?" Weiss demanded. Solaris shook his head, and then, frowned.

"Well…actually…" He started to say, but Yang interjected.

"We can explain!" Yang shouted as Solaris opened his mouth to continue.

"Yes, thank you, Yang, as I was just about to do that" Solaris said sarcastically. Weiss had her hand on her hips and Blake shot lasers from her eyes at both Solaris and Yang. Ruby, meanwhile, was still red in the face.

"Well, the explanation is that…uh…well….we were…um…I….ah…you see…weweregoingtobutthenRubyandWeisscamebacksowestopped."

Weiss held a look of indignity, but Yang interjected. Again.

'We were really starting to have fun before you guys stopped us!" Yang said, and Weiss made a disgusted "Oh!" noise, while Blake looked like she was about to break in half. Ruby opted for a simpler approach, simply throwing her pillow at Yang to get her to shut up. She didn't want to hear this.

"You mean you two were going to….on my bed?" Blake shouted, causing Ruby to cover her ears and start singing to block the noise out, whilst Weiss rounded on Yang for being so promiscuous.

"What, it's not his fault?" Yang said, pointing at Solaris. Solaris looked unsure of what to say.

"C'mon, Yang, if one of you were to suggest something like this, who would it be, honestly?" Blake said, and Weiss nodded. Even Ruby nodded her head fractionally, saying "She does have a point there, sis".

Solaris decided to leap in and save his girlfriend. Somewhat.

"Well, to be fair, I did protest, and probably should've done so harder, but with Yang on top of me she seemed determined to ah…what?" He asked as he saw Weiss look away, a tiny blush on her cheeks. Blake stopped looking so angry, and turned her head to one side whilst smiling slightly. Ruby, meanwhile, content that the situation had resolved itself, went back to reading, completely missing the remark Solaris had said, and all its loaded meaning. Yang, at this point, did not look at any of her teammates, and focused on her scroll, her eyebrows raised by the remark Solaris had made and what it would be seen as.

"Solaris…I had…no idea you would…so…well…" Blake began softly.

"So…what…exactly…?" Solaris asked her. Blake blushed as her mind went wild with images of Yang and Solaris… _NO! Bad Blake! That's the second time you thought that!_

Reeling her mind back to the present situation, Blake replied with:

"Well…you know… _submissive…"_

Weiss bit back a smile hearing this, Yang was not looking at anyone, Ruby was not even paying attention anymore, and Blake was trying hard not to laugh. Solaris, meanwhile, looked Blake in the eye.

"Why thank you, Blake" He said, in a tone of voice so laden with false thanks and sarcasm that it must've broken some sort of local record for snarkiest reply.

Blake couldn't help but think of these mental images and the connotations that came along with it. Was he naturally submissive, or was Yang the dominant one? Was she always on top? Was she-? _Again? Stop it brain! We can't be thinking such things, can we, almost how Solaris almost has no control in the-NO! Undirty thoughts, Blake, undirty thoughts!_

Solaris decided to leave the room for a while to get some peace and comfort. He crossed the hall to team JNPR's dorm, and was met by the lovely Pyrrha Nikos.

"Ah. Hello, Solaris. What an unexpected pleasure." She said politely.

Solaris nodded in agreement and politely inquired if he could lay low here for an hour or two whilst things cool off in his own room. Pyrrha let him in but did not inquire as to the circumstances. Nora, however, met him at the door almost immediately.

"Let what cool down? What's going on? What's happening? Is it a fight? Is someone fighting?" She asked at a million miles an hour. Solaris shook his head.

"It's uh…well…hard to explain." Solaris said, looking around. Jaune and Ren appeared to be engage in battle to death…in a card game.

"Aha! Won't expecting Mirror Force, where you?" Jaune cried, to which Ren calmly flipped over a "Solemn Judgement".

"What? Well, at least you have to halve your life points" Jaune reasoned as Ren countered his trap and allowed the battle to continue apace.

Solaris naturally moved over to watch.

"So…Yugioh?" He asked.

Jaune and Ren nodded, neither one of them raising their eyes from the game mat and their hands. Jaune appeared to have the upper hand, but Ren had some hidden surprises in store, it seemed. Nora watched in excitement as the each turn progressed, with Pyrrha glancing back every time Nora let lose a shout of excitement or dismay at one of her team mates losing a card or getting attacked. Which happened a lot.

They played like this for at least half an hour, as the game continued on and both players matched each other in feats of tactical excellence. Solaris was quite content to watch until Pyrrha mentioned something about the winner of this match playing him.

"What? Ah, nah. I'm happy to watch" He said. However, Pyrrha had this look in her eyes, one that Solaris had already seen earlier tonight.

"Why not? You're the competitive type, aren't you? I've seen you, you like to fight hard, and to win. I never took you for the type to shy away from a challenge. To _submit."_ She finished, smirking and looking at him from across the room. No one else grasped what she meant until they all get a message on their scrolls. Solaris had no doubt this was Blake's revenge.

Nora pulled hers out first and looked at what it said, then back at Solaris, then to Pyrrha, who nodded. Nora fell back on her bed with laughter. Jaune read his, and then glanced up at Solaris.

"How would they know about…this…did you and…Yang…?" He left the thought in the air as he mentally completed the path himself. "Ohhhhh" He finished. Ren had read his, and, while not seeming amused, he told Solaris he was "Quite the gentleman for suiting his lady" In tones dripping with false sympathy. Solaris stood up calmly, as if nothing was wrong, straightened his shirt out and took a deep breathe.

"Team JNPR. Pleasure as always. Jaune, Ren has an "Honest" in his hand. His trap is "Magic Cylinder". Use "Mystical Space Typhoon" on the card face down on his third magic space. Nora, Pyrrha, it was fun talking. Now, I have some unfinished business with a certain someone." Solaris said calmly.

"BLAKE BELLADONA YOU SLIPPERY LITTLE BI-" He yelled as he charged out the room, thrusting open the door and slamming it shut behind him in the hallway.

 **A/N: And there we are. Ten Chapters.**

 **Woohoo.**

 **Thank you everyone who stuck with me this far, and everyone who has read it so far. I intend to keep on going like this for a long time.**

 **Also, if you really want to know, there will be more Solaris and Yang "alone time" ahead, which will go uninterrupted this time. Hopefully.**

 **And yes, Jaune and Ren play Yugioh together. Why? Because it adds something else to do in happy funtime chapters like this one.**


	11. Chapter 11: Roman&Neo VS Agony&Entropy

Chapter 11: A woeful time

The industrial portion of Vale was quiet as the mist filled air drifted gently over the mostly derelict and not entirely unoccupied area.

Amidst the crates and containers, between the warehouses and store rooms, a small band of highly determined looking individuals carried a large, cylindrical container between the four of them, whilst two others looked on.

"Careful, now, men, can't have this being dropped, can we?" Informed one of these onlookers, who, if a reader were to be watching, could identify the figure as Entropy, accompanied by Agony, and four lesser beings in thrall to their cause.

"No sir! Not at all sir!" Shouted one of the men to him on cue, and all the other man also shouted "Yessir!" in a manner of someone who believes volume equates to loyalty.

"Good, good" Entropy said, and cast his gaze out over the mist filled area. There was supposed to be a truck here waiting for them to take this…where was it?  
Removing his jewel from his armour, Entropy sent out a telepathic question to Hatred.

"Where is the truck? Your late" He snapped in his mind. The response came through slowly.

"There has been an incident with traffic. I'll be delayed" Came the blunt reply.

Agony saddled over closer to Entropy.

"Where is he?" She whispered in annoyance. Entropy was about to mutter something about traffic and the idiocy of Hatred when someone-no, multiple someone's stepped out of the shadow.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" Came the mocking voice of a man who knows he has more men with more guns the next party. Stepping out of the mist came the infamous criminal mastermind Roman Torchwick, with a group of criminals toting guns in tow. Most interestingly there was also a young woman of short stature holding a parasol in hand, her mismatched hair and sharp features immediately drawing the eyes of Agony.

 _Oh, pay attention please._ Entropy complained internally, slapping her arm to get her to focus on the business at hand.

"This is just a little delivery of ours to some business partners. Nothing that would bother you, or your men" Entropy explained, gesturing to the cylindrical container large enough for two men to lie face down, head to toe, within.

Roman stepped forward, using his hired goons to push aside the labour of the two cult members so he could see the container better.

"Well, that's were your wrong. You see, everything that goes on down here concerns me" He replied, before gesturing for one of his men to open it. He stepped back and pointed his cigar at Entropy.

"I believe a friend of yours killed some of my men. Do I get compensation?" He asked, snuffing his cigar out on Entropy's chest plate. Wiping the ash off his armour, Entropy removed his mask so he could speak clearly to Roman.

"Depends." He said simply. Agony had also removed her mask, and was freeing her flowing orange hair from her robes, winking at Neo, who rolled her eyes. Roman didn't seem amused with this reply.

"With what?" He asked, looking back to check the progress on the container, and, seeing that his men were to still trying to force it open, he pointed at Neo to move them along.

"Well...no…you really won't, I'm afraid." Aaron replied, as Romans men finally wrenched the container open. Five long metal rods lay within. Roman turned his back on Aaron and went over to the container, and looked at the rods.

"What are these?" He mused, prodding them with his cane. Ms. Dutch was still smiling at Neo, causing her to look awkwardly away, unused to receiving such close attention in public. Ms. Dutch sniggered at this. Roman removed a rod and examined it top to bottom.

"Would you enlighten me on the purpose of these rods?" He asked, turning to Aaron, who shook his head. "You really wouldn't understand" He stated.

Roman scoffed, and threw it back inside the container roughly, causing a loud clang. The pole glowed fractionally, but this went unnoticed by Roman, whose attention was now wholly fixed on Aaron.

"Well, I know someone who might. She'll be very interested in this little find, won't she, Neo?" Roman said, tilting his head slightly towards Neo. As if by some que, the groups broke out into spontaneous fighting. Roman hefted his cane to fire a shot off, but found Aarons had vanished into a pile of leaves. Neo pirouetted and went for a side kick on Agony, who, in a feat of unnatural swiftness, caught her leg mid kick and threw it aside. The gangsters with Roman opened fire, and the men with Aaron and Ms. Dutch ducked and ran for cover before returning fire. Roman spun around to see Aaron go in for a punch, and deftly sidestepped, only to see him disappear a _gain._ Roman was unsure what was going on when he was hit in the back by a blow, then felt himself get covered in leaves. Again, Aaron reappeared in front of him and landed a series of blows on Roman, before teleporting away to face one of Romans exposed sides. Each volley of blows met zero resistance as Roman struggled to keep track of where the blows where coming from.

Neo, meanwhile, was engaged in a game with Ms. Dutch. Neo went in for kicks and strikes with her parasol, which Agony deftly avoided, then followed through with punches and kicks of her own, forcing Neo to move side to side to dodge the rain of strikes. Neo jumped into the air and over Ms. Dutch, landing behind her and going in for a kick to the head, but Agony merely smiled and stepped fractionally back, the heel of Neo's foot passing by inches from her head. Ms. Dutch moved in and feinted several blows, then made a real one, out of sync with the previous ones. Neo, adapted to the pattern so far, took the hit to her ribs as it appeared out of nowhere. Stepping deftly in, Ms. Dutch grabbed Neo by her arm and pulled her in and to the side, close enough for Neo to smash Ms. Dutch in the stomach with her parasol. Neo would've followed through with a hyper fast series of blows if Ms. Dutch reacted, but instead she smiled, the pain and impact entirely ignored.

"You're such a little cutie" Ms. Dutch said flirtatiously to Neo, who frowned and drove forward. Ms. Dutch raised her elbow in the path of Neo, causing her to duck low at the last moment, interrupting her attack. Ms. Dutch spinned around and raised her left leg to trip Neo, who merely turned the fall into a front flip.

"I'll like to see you do that in the bedroom" Ms. Dutch smiled, and drew a curved blade, a flaying knife, from her belt. Neo responded in kind by drawing her needle thin rapier.

Elsewhere, Roman managed to break the endless hail of blows with a lucky hit with his cane, and now he was pushing Aaron back. But Roman knew this felt to easy. Aaron could simply teleport away…why, then…was he backing off with each blow, leaping back with a smile on his face.

Roman decided not to find out and fired off several shots at the annoying upstart, who then vanished in a flurry of leaves once more.

"Curse these bloody kids" Roman snapped to himself, looking around for where his competitor could have gone now. Sensing movement behind him, he spun around and caught sight of his foe, raising his arms…revealing…wrist mounted machine pistols. Of course. Anyone who was crazy enough to fight like these people would have crazy ass weapons.

Aaron raised his fists, or, more specifically, the two automatic machine pistols he had installed in wrist braces. Their black and grey metal tone contrasted with his green armour plating sharply, but not as sharply as the vambrace blades which ran along the width of his forearm.

"Oh c'mon!" Roman protested as Aaron smiled fiendishly, before opening fire. The rounds were individually quite weak, but the sheer mass of them forced Roman to jump behind a crate for cover. As he did this, the murderous hail of gunfire stopped as Aaron reloaded, the clips ejecting sideways out of the guns, as he reached to his belt to insert fresh ones. However, Roman would not let such an opportunity go amiss, and so, peaking out from his cover, he fired off several return shots of his own. Aaron leapt aside to avoid the blows, before he placed the second clip in and returned fire once more.

As this was going on, Neo and Ms. Dutch were continuing to outdo each other in a series of elegant kicks, punches, hand strikes, jumps, flips and displays of acrobatic nonsense. Ms. Dutch still kept on flirting with her the whole time, much to Neo's annoyance.

"C'mon, how about a kiss?" Ms. Dutch asked sweetly, extending her hand for Neo to take. Diving forward with her rapier extended, Neo sidestepped her foes exposed arm and moved in for the lethal blow, when Ms. Dutch did something she would previously thought to be impossible.

Agony reached out and _grabbed_ the needle thin blade whilst moving calmly aside. Her weapons blade cut through the material of Agony's glove, tearing it and causing a line of blood to appear along her exposed palm, but Ms. Dutch merely smiled, and yanked the blade closer to her, pulling it so fast that Neo came along with, crashing into her opponents chest. Ms. Dutch wrapped an arm around Neo's neck and pulled her in closer.

Neo thought she was going to die, and tried to free herself, but her foes grip was like iron. She feared what would come next when Ms. Dutch did something entirely unexpected. She pulled Neo in and kissed her. On the lips.

Throwing the stunned Neo backwards to regain her dignity and composure, Ms. Dutch sniggered at her discomfort and alarm before calling out to her.

"You should've seen that coming, someone as cute as you!" She yelled, bowing. Neo was about to move forward with murder in her heart when an explosion rocked the area. Everyone looked around for the source, which revealed itself in the form of a truck ramming aside a shipping container, one of the people within it firing a grenade launcher wildly whilst yelling incoherently. Hatred was behind the wheel.

Turning the truck rapidly into a semi-power slide he rammed aside a clustered gaggle of Romans criminal men, and then disembarked by kicking the door of the cabin. Staff in hand, Hatred leapt onto the ground, releasing a shockwave in all directions.

"Ha-ha!" Aaron shouted smugly, and teleported in front of Roman, punching him in the jaw before teleporting to the container to retrieve the rods.

"Agony, it's time to come back!" Aaron called in a singsong voice.

Ms. Dutch, just beginning to feel the build-up of power, decided to do so before she butchered this delightful little opponent of hers.

"Well, my dear, it has been a pleasure. Perhaps we should get to know each other some other way?" She laughed, and threw something at Neo, who instinctively caught it mid-air. It was a ball of paper. Blowing a kiss to her, Ms. Dutch laughed all the way to the truck, where Hatred and Aaron where waiting.

"Well, it was lovely meeting you. I hope we meet again!" Called Roman sarcastically after the group as they retrieved their items and then vanished as one whole by Aaron teleporting them away. Neo, meanwhile, unfolded the piece of paper.

It had a phone number on it, captioned "Text me babe".

Not wanting to lose track of her new No.1 Most Hated Rival, she tucked it into her pocket, sheathed her Rapier, and went to join Roman, her thoughts occupied entirely by that arrogant, annoying, violent girl who mocked Neo in the most infuriating way.

She would find her. And then get answers.

Starting with: "Where the hell did you learn to fight like that?"

XXX

Several days after the little dispute between Solaris and Blake, in which Blake texted JNPR that Solaris liked to take things "lying down" so to speak, which had arisen after an interrupted session between him and Yang (on Blake' bed, of all places), which caused Solaris to return the gesture of screwing the other over by calling Blake a "slippery little bitch", which in turn devolved unfathomably into an argument between the two over Dust and Fire and which character was better, or who deserved to die, etc etc, causing all the other people to lose interest in the debate as to whether Solaris admitted to being the passive one (Yang, unhelpfully, neither denied nor confirmed this) in bed and gain interest in this series which the two seemed to enthralled by.

"Guys? Guys? GUYS!" Yelled Yang as Blake and Solaris shot some remarks back and forth about house Stake and house lunnister, followed by insults like "Headless" or "Twincest".

No one really understood what these remarks meant, but they meant to find out.

"Yes?" Solaris said at once, responding instantly to Yang, causing Blake to further believe Solaris (accidental) statement.

"What the hell are you two on about?" She demanded, and Weiss nodded.

"Dust and Fire, the fantasy series of books about the fictional land of-" Blake begun, but was cut short by Yang waving her hand in the air from atop her bunk.

"Right!" She shouted. "You've been on about it for months! And we have no idea what you are talking about! So, in the interest of team spirit, and understanding, would it be possible for us to…you know…watch this…together…because I am sure as hell not reading a book bigger than our textbooks." Yang said.

"Well, actually there are at least 5 books, but two are split into two parts each, so-" Solaris started, but stopped when Yang looked sternly at him.

"Then I am definitely _not_ reading them!" She expanded. Blake rummaged through some stuff and pulled out a DVD box.

"Here it is. Dust and Fire, Season 1" She proclaimed, raising it above her head like a holy relic. Which, to her and Solaris, it kind of was. Weiss, however, looked at the rating and declared that it wasn't fit for Ruby.

"Why nooooooooooot?" She complained, using her puppy dog eyes on everyone in the room, most notably Yang, the person whose permission she most needed.

"Sexual content" Blake stated bluntly.

"Oh. Ewwwww, gross" She spluttered, red faced.

"Maybe when your older" Yang said, patting her on the back. "So, where are we going to watch it?" She said, forgetting about her sister.

"Yang! You can't just leave her by herself while we go watch this!" Weiss said, outraged that Yang would leave Ruby alone.

"Well, if we watch an episode a day, it is an hour a night. She can stay here and do homework and we can watch it in JNPR's dorm" Blake said, and Solaris nodded. "I am aware that Ren and Nora are huge fans. Jaune and Pyrrha haven't read or watched it, so it can be like a huge movie watching night!" Of course, no one who has read the books really thought this. What they thought was:

" _Ah yes, fresh blood and minds to destroy and devour as their faith and love gets crushed and destroyed brutally as their favourite characters die horrendously and go unavenged. I shall draw power from their suffering! Mwah ha ha ha ha ha ha!"_

Solaris smiled internally and glanced at Blake, who had this sly smile as she watched Yang and Weiss head over to the dorm room. Before she left, Blake looked at Ruby.

"You sure you'll be ok?"

Ruby nodded, and held up a weapons booklet.

"I can pass the time easily!" She beamed, and Blake nodded, smiling, and closed the door.

And so it begins.

XXX

 _BA-BA-BADA BA-BA BADA BA-BA BADA BA BA-BA BADA BA-BA BADA BA-BA BADA BAAAAAA-BAAAAAAAAAA BADAAAAAAAAAAA BAAAAAAAAAAAA BAAAAAAAAAA BA-BA BA-BA BA-BA BADA BA-BA BADA BA-BA BADA BA-BA…_

The iconic theme of Dust and Ice rang loud in the dorm room, as the two teams (minus Ruby) watched on. Sitting on the beds were Nora and Ren, with Nora holding a bowel of popcorn in one hand and a full bottle of soft drink in the other. Ren had his hands in his lap, ready to restrain her if need be. Pyrrha and Jaune sat at the foot of another her bed, looking intently at the screen. Weiss had taken a seat all for herself and Blake was lying contently on the floor, whilst Solaris had lined up a chair for Yang, who pushed him into then sat on his lap, to the others, (mostly Blake's) amusement.

The screen showed the vast geography of the world, from the city of Kings Arrival to Winterfall, to the Barrier in the far north, and across the Thin Sea to Pentus.

Solaris wrapped his arms around Yang's waist as she leant back in his embrace, and watched the show as one. The episode progressed to show Winterfall, the home of House Stake, Gaurdians of the North.

 _Burrrrrrrr-bur-bur bur burburbur. Burrrrrrrrrr ne-ner-ne. Neh neh neh nehnerneh nehhhhhhh. Burrrrrrrrr BUR-BUR-BURBURBUR. BURRRRRRRRRRRR BUR-BUR-BURBURBUR._

The low, mournful theme of House Stake and the North filled the room, the slow, sad music making them all fall silent. The one improvement that cannot be denied the shows had over the books was the music.

The group watched, enthralled in experiencing the story for the first time, or seeing it again, but enthralled nonetheless in the majesty of the story, the depth of the world, the very real feelings that pervaded the world depicted on screen.

They were still in silence until the scene with the Dire Hounds, where Weiss, of all people, unexpectedly went "Ahhhh" in a soft crooning voice at the sight of the wolf pups.

Blake looked at her with a funny expression before returning her attention to the screen.

They watched in raptured silence, with Pyrrha wincing at the treatment of the silver haired princess, Daenaries, by her brother, Visaries, and later on at the wedding between her and Khal Drogoe. Yang whispered something into Solaris ear about Daenaries, and he smiled before whispering something back, to which she giggled.

Blake watched the exchanged and smirked to herself, her imagination running wild with the ideas Yang might get from watching this show…as might she. Reading it was one thing, seeing it another…and, sure, she had seen it before, but with other people…well. More opportunity, you know?

Finally, the episode neared its end, with Brun climbing the tower, and seeing something he was not meant to see. Weiss let out a horrified gasp when she put two and two together and came up with four, and Pyrrha's eyes widened. Jaune seem pretty nonplussed, but he did appear to be trying hard to keep his expression neutral. Nora and Ren, having seen this before, where not at all worried by it.

The real shock came when one of the people involved in the scandal, the brother, moved over to Brun, helped him up through the window, and appeared, just for a moment, to _look_ as if he was going to help.

"He is going to blackmail him into not talking, isn't he?" Yang whispered, and Solaris shook his head. "Not quite." He replied.

"The things I do for love" Said the brother on screen, and pushed Brun from the window. Yang shot up and Weiss went "AH!" in surprise.

The others who had not seen it reacted as one would expect people to react when they see a ten year old get pushed from a window by a knight of high nobility who is apparently engaged in incestuous relations with his twin sister, the queen.

"What…was…that?" Weiss said slowly, dreading what other horrors lay before them.

"A pretty uneventful episode" Solaris said, and Blake nodded.

 _Blake thinks she can laugh at their reactions, but she is so close to the chapter where her favourite current character will meet his end! Ha ha!_ Solaris laughed internally.

"That was…dark" Pyrrha summarised, and Jaune nodded.

"A good kind of dark. You get bored of hearing about the stories where the heroes always get it nice and easy" He said, to much general surprise. People didn't expect Jaune the type to enjoy dark stories.

Solaris continue to laugh evilly in his mind as the group discussed what they had just seen. Yang looked to Blake then back to Solaris before she picked up the DVD, a determined look in her eye to find out what had happened.

"So…episode 2 anyone?" She said, and the whole room agreed to one more hour of viewing. Solaris smiled as Yang relaxed back into his arms once more, Nora's popcorn bowl in hand. The two enjoyed each-others fine company throughout the remainder of the viewing, in blissful silence and comfort. Solaris wished to remain here forever.

 **A/N: Yeah. Lots of A Song of Ice and Fire puns and renames, I know. But hey, it wouldn't be exactly the same now, would it? Got to have some imagination for the sake of a joke.**

 **Also, the Neo/Dutch thing will definitely continue. I enjoyed writing that too much to stop there, since I've seen a lot of memes where people have captioned Neo flirting with Yang in their fight in Volume 2 and I thought it would be hilarious if there was someone who did it to her instead, someone who is just as crazy and violent to boot. Ms. Dutch exists not as an anti-Neo, more of a different take on a similar premise. Mostly.**

 **And no, neither Roman nor Neo was actually beaten in that fight. It ended before a conclusive winner was determined. I don't won't my villains to negate the canon villain's menace and power. My fights should be unpredictable, or at least somewhat** _ **fair.**_ **No OC curb stomping the real characters without effort.**

 **Aside from Death.**

 **As always, I would** _ **love reviews!**_ **Tell me what you liked, what background things you want to see, etc. More side characters? Team CFVY, maybe? Cinder meeting one of my OC villains? White Rose? More Neo and Dutch?**

 **These are the things I have not really thought of…**


End file.
